Gloucestershire’s first-ever full stage of the Tour of Britain, the UK’s leading cycle race, will feature Tewkesbury, the Cotswolds and a finish alongside the historic Gloucester Docks.
Organisers SweetSpot have more details of stage six (Friday 9 September), which promises to be one of the most picturesque in the event’s modern history.
The medieval market town of Tewkesbury will host the stage start, before over 100 of the world’s best riders head into the Cotswolds and South Gloucestershire during the 169-kilometre (105-mile) route.
A thrilling finale into the cathedral city of Gloucester is guaranteed, as the closing 30 kilometres feature the climbs of Crawley Hill (4.6km long, maximum gradient of 21.5%) and Painswick (3km long, average gradient of 5%, maximum of 15.8%). The latter, located 12 kilometres to the south east of the finish line, will likely see some of the day’s most thrilling racing.
With the start and finish locations separated by a little over 10 miles, fans will easily be able to attend both on race day, which will further add to the atmosphere at this free-to-watch sporting spectacle.
Gloucestershire County Council’s commitment to supporting tourism and active travel will see the Women’s Tour, the UK’s most prestigious women’s cycle race, also visit the county in 2022 for a Tewkesbury to Gloucester stage (Wednesday 8 June, albeit using a different route).
Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain race director, said: “The Gloucestershire stage of the Tour of Britain really has it all: an historic start location, stunning scenery, challenging climbs and a brilliant finish venue. We’re thrilled that the 2022 race is able to feature our first-ever full stage of the Tour in the county and we thank Gloucestershire County Council for their support. Of course, before that, we cannot wait to also bring the Women’s Tour, the UK’s most prestigious women’s race, to Gloucestershire in June!”
While the 2016 race passed through the county, and the penultimate day of the 2017 event culminated in Cheltenham, this will be the first stage set entirely in Gloucestershire. On average, the net economic benefit of hosting a stage of the Tour of Britain since 2016 has been worth £3.5m to venues.
Hill-top finishes at Glenshee Ski Centre in Aberdeenshire and The Needles on the Isle of Wight will bookend the Tour of Britain, which returns for what promises to be a groundbreaking 18th modern edition in September.
Building on the success of last year’s race, which saw the overall lead change hands five times in eight days, the battle for victory in the 2022 edition looks set to go down to the final pedal strokes once again.
The race also features a return to North Yorkshire after over a decade on stage four and a first-ever Dorset stage, taking place between West Bay and Ferndown, on the penultimate day (Saturday 10 September)
While spectators can watch all the action by the roadside for free, race day hospitality packages offer guaranteed prime views of stage starts and finishes, complete with fine dining experiences. Visit sportsbreaks.com/Cycling for more information.
ITV4 will continue to broadcast live flag-to-flag coverage of every stage, as well as a nightly highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch wherever they are. The race will also be shown in over 150 countries worldwide, in part thanks to the event’s partnerships with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network.
Last year’s star-studded race was won by Belgian rider Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), with reigning world road race champion Julian Alaphilippe finishing third overall. A roadside crowd of over one million spectators resulted in the Tour of Britain generating £29.96m of net economic benefit for the UK economy, according to research by Frontline.