Cycling: OVO Energy Tour of Britain to come through Rochdale

The final day of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain will see the peloton tackling a 165-kilometre route, one that starts in Altrincham and includes almost 2,000 metres of climbing, notably featuring the famous climb of the Rake at Ramsbottom and passes through all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester en route to the finish line in Deansgate on Saturday 14 September. 

The route through Rochdale will see the cyclists enter the borough at Burnedge from High Crompton onto Broad Lane and then down Oldham Road, turning right at the central retail park onto Wood Street, Molesworth Street and up John Street.

The route then goes left onto St Mary's Gate and into the town centre along Newgate and past Rochdale town hall. From there the tour will head along Dane Street and Mellor Street onto Edenfield Road and through Norden towards Edenfield.

The final stage sees the finish in Manchester city centre for the first time since the inaugural edition of the modern race in 2004.

The OVO Energy Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their doorstep and helping to build a great cycling nation.

Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, community and culture at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming some of the world’s top riders to the borough in September and exciting plans are underway to make it a day to remember, with fun family activities. It’s fantastic that another prestigious sporting event is visiting Rochdale and a great opportunity for local shops and businesses.”

Rochdale route in full:

B6197 Buckstones Road; A633 Milnrow Road; A663 Crompton Way; B6194 Rochdale Road; B6194 New Broad Lane; B6194 Broad Lane/Turf Hill Road; A671 Oldham Road; Wood Street; A671 Molesworth Street; A671 John Street; A58 Saint Marys Gate, dual carriageway; A58 Hunters Lane; Newgate; B6266 The Esplanade; Dane Street; A6060 Mellor Street; A680 Edenfield Road; Turn Village; A56 Bury Road

• www.tourofbritain.co.uk/stage-timetables-revealed-for-2019-ovo-energy-tour-of-britain/

 

 

Team INEOS, Team Jumbo – Visma and Team Sunweb headline the 20 teams confirmed for this September’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain, the UK’s biggest and most prestigious cycle race.

Eleven teams fresh from competing in the Tour de France will take part in the 16th edition of the modern Tour (Saturday 7 – 14 September), including the French AG2R La Mondiale squad of Romain Bardet, who make their first appearance since 2009.

In total the OVO Energy Tour of Britain will welcome 10 UCI World Tour teams in 2019 including Team Dimension Data of Mark Cavendish, EF Education First Pro Cycling, Lotto Soudal, Mitchelton - SCOTT, Team KATUSHA ALPECIN and the Movistar Team who won the team classification at the Tour de France last month.

Five UCI ProContinental squads will compete, led by Corendon – Circus Cycling Team, who are already confirmed as bringing rising star Mathieu van der Poel to the race, while the Israel Cycling Academy team will make their debut with a potential line-up including the last back-to-back stage winner in the Tour of Britain Matthias Brändle and former Irish national champion Connor Dunne.

British fans will also be able to cheer on the Great Britain cycling team once again, with the line again expected to feature the best British professionals from outside of the teams competing, combined with the next generation of home stars, such as Ethan Hayter who took four top 10 stage finishes during the 2018 race for Great Britain.

Four British UCI Continental squads will complete the field, having earned their places through a season long qualification criteria. OVO Energy Tour Series champions Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes will be joined by Madison Genesis, Team WIGGINS Le Col and making their race debut SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling.