Tour of Britain 2023 unveils stunning Gloucestershire stage

Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire will play a key role in deciding who is crowned this year’s Tour of Britain champion when the UK’s leading cycle race visits the historic county in September.

The seventh and penultimate stage of this year’s Tour will start in Tewkesbury and finish alongside the historic Gloucester Docks on Saturday 9 September.

This stage – the first full day of racing in Gloucestershire in race history – was originally scheduled to feature in last year’s Tour of Britain, but was cancelled following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The medieval market town of Tewkesbury will host the stage start, before over 100 of the world’s best riders head through Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire to a thrilling finale into the cathedral city of Gloucester.

With the start and finish locations separated by a little over 10 miles, and the event being held on a Saturday, this is a great opportunity to view and support the event and fans will easily be able to attend both the start and finish on race day, which will further add to the atmosphere at this free-to-watch sporting spectacle.

Details of the final route to be used for stage seven and the full stage timetable will be published during July, but it will be and undulating route to really test the riders on their penultimate day and will showcase the incredible sceanery and landscape that Gloucestershire has to offer,

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 within Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “I delighted that we that we are able to host stage seven of the 2023 Tour of Britain, following on from the success of the Women’s Tour coming to the county in 2022. Events like the Tour of Britain are key to helping our economy thrive and showcase, to a significant international audience, all that Gloucestershire has to offer. Bringing world-class cyclists to our doorstep also has the potential to inspire more people to ride their bikes.”

ITV4 will continue to broadcast live start-to-finish coverage of every stage, as well as a daily highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch the action unfold wherever they are. International coverage will be available in over 150 countries courtesy of Eurosport and GCN+.

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk