View source for Tour of Britain

The '''Tour of Britain''' is the name of a [[road bicycle racing|cycle race]] held in [[United Kingdom]]. The race is made up of several parts in which the racers go from place to place across parts of [[Great Britain]]. The history of the event dates back to [[1951]]. The Tour of Britain is part of the [[UCI]]'s European Tour.

The race includes teams from [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], as well as a Great Britain team. In recent years, no [[England|English]] team has been entered. Teams from outside the UK compete too, for example in 2007 Team T-Mobile will take part.

The latest version, a professional stage race, was first run in [[2004]].

==History==
The Tour of Britain has had different names. This is because many different [[company|companies]] or groups of people have provided the [[money]] needed to have the event happen (''sponsors''). 

*the '''''[[Daily Express]]'' Tour of Britain''' ([[1951]]-[[1955]])
::[[Scotland|Scot]] Ian Steel won the 1951 edition, in which [[Jimmy Savile]] (later to become a famous [[DJ]] and television personality) also raced. The 1955 edition was organised by the [[British League of Racing Cyclists]].
*the '''[[Milk Race]]''' ([[1958]]-[[1993]])
::This was a two-week amateur event but from about [[1983]], the event was also opened to professional teams. The [[Milk Marketing Board]] also sponsored the '''Scottish Milk Race''', a smaller tour in Scotland.
*the '''[[Kellogg Company|Kellogg]]'s Tour''' ([[1987]]-[[1994]])
::Winners included: [[Malcolm Elliot]] ([[1988]]), [[Robert Millar]] ([[1989]]), [[Phil Anderson]] ([[1991]], [[1993]]), [[Max Sciandri]] ([[1992]]) and, in its final year, [[Maurizio Fondriest]].
*the [[Prudential plc]]-sponsored '''PruTour''' ([[1998]]-[[1999]])
::[[Stuart O'Grady]] ([[Crédit Agricole (cycling team)|Crédit Agricole]]) won the 1998 edition; [[Marc Wauters]] ([[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]) won in 1999.

==The modern tour==
[[Image:TourofBritain2005.jpg|thumb|Stage 3 of the 2005 race passing through [[Honley]], near [[Huddersfield]]]]
===2004 Tour of Britain===
The first edition of the latest version of the '''Tour of Britain''' took place over five days in early September 2004. It was organised by SweetSpot along with [[British Cycling]]. The race was sponsored by the organisers of [[London]]'s [[2012 Olympics]] bid. It was well-promoted and many well-known teams were a part of the race. Such teams included [[T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile]] ([[Germany]]) and [[U.S. Postal Service cycling team|U.S. Postal Service]] ([[USA]]). This was partly due to it being a 2.3 category race on the [[Union Cycliste Internationale]] (UCI) calendar.

The 2004 route ended with a 45 mile (72 km) [[criterium]] in [[London]], where tens of thousands of people watching saw a long break by Londoner [[Bradley Wiggins]] last until the final lap. Enrico Degano of [[Team Barloworld]] passed him on the final lap to win that stage of the race. The [[Colombia]]n [[Mauricio Ardila]], of [[Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen|Chocolade Jacques]], won the Tour overall.

====Stages====
{| class="wikitable"
! Stage
! Date
! Start
! Finish
! Distance
! colspan=2|Winner
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[1 September]] [[2004]]
| [[Manchester]]
| Manchester
| align=right | 207 km
| [[Stefano Zanini]] || {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Davitamon|QSD]]
| align="right"|5h 01'23"
|-
! 2
| [[2 September]] [[2004]]
| [[Leeds]]
| [[Sheffield]]
| align=right | 172 km
| [[Mauricio Ardila]] || {{COL}}
| [[Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen|CHO]]
| align="right"|4h 26'26"
|-
! 3
| [[3 September]] [[2004]]
| [[Bakewell]]
| [[Nottingham]]
| align=right | 192 km
| [[Tom Boonen]] || {{BEL}}
| QSD
| align="right"|4h 30'55"
|-
! 4
| [[4 September]] [[2004]]
| [[Newport]]
| Newport
| align=right | 160 km
| Mauricio Ardila || {{COL}}
| CHO
| align="right"|3h 32'37"
|-
! 5
| [[5 September]] [[2004]]
| [[London]]
| London
| align=right | 72 km
| [[Enrico Degano]] || {{ITA}}
| [[Team Barloworld|TBL]]
| align="right"|1h 27'30"
|}

====Final General Classification====

{| class="wikitable"
!
! Name
! Nationality
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[Mauricio Ardila]]
| {{COL}}
| [[Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen|CHO]]
| align="right"|18h 58'36" 
|-
! 2
| [[Julian Dean]]
| {{NZL}}
| [[Crédit Agricole (cycling team)|C.A]]
| align="right"|+ 00'12" 
|-
! 3
| [[Nick Nuyens]]
| {{BEL}}
| [[Quick Step-Davitamon|QSD]]
| align="right"|+ 00'17" 
|}

===2005 Tour of Britain===
{{main|Tour of Britain 2005}}
The 2005 race was run as a UCI 2.1 category in six stages starting in [[Glasgow]] on [[30 August]] and finishing in [[London]] on [[4 September]]:

====Stages====
{| class="wikitable"
! Stage
! Date
! Start
! Finish
! Distance
! colspan=2 | Winner
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[30 August]] [[2005]]
| [[Glasgow]]
| [[Castle Douglas]]
| align=right | 185 km
| [[Nick Nuyens]] || {{BEL}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|4h 24'32"
|-
! 2
| [[31 August]] [[2005]]
| [[Carlisle]]
| [[Blackpool]]
| align=right | 160 km
| [[Roger Hammond (cyclist)|Roger Hammond]] || {{GBR}}
| [[Great Britain (cycling team)|GBR]]
| align="right"|3h 58'48"
|-
! 3
| [[1 September]] [[2005]]
| [[Leeds]]
| [[Sheffield]]
| align=right | 160 km
| [[Luca Paolini]] || {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|4h 27'24"
|-
! 4
| [[2 September]] [[2005]]
| [[Buxton]]
| [[Nottingham]]
| align=right | 195 km
| [[Serguei Ivanov]] || {{RUS}}
| [[T-Mobile Team|TMO]]
| align="right"|4h 24'17"
|-
! 5
| [[3 September]] [[2005]]
| [[Birmingham]]
| Birmingham
| align=right | ([[Individual time trial|ITT]]) 4 km 
| Nick Nuyens || {{BEL}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|4'54.06"
|-
! 6
| [[4 September]] [[2005]]
| [[London]]
| London
| align=right | 60 km
| Luca Paolini || {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|1h 30'54"
|}

====Final General Classification====

{| class="wikitable"
!
! Name
! Nationality
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[Nick Nuyens]]
| {{BEL}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|19h 04'32" 
|-
! 2
| [[Michael Blaudzun]]
| {{DNK}}
| [[Team CSC|CSC]]
| align="right"|+ 00'08" 
|-
! 3
| [[Javier Cherro Molina]]
| {{SPA}}
| [[Comunidad Valenciana (cycling team)|ECV]]
| align="right"|+ 00'22" 
|}

===2006 Tour of Britain===
The [[Tour of Britain 2006]] took place from the [[29 August]] to [[3 September]] as a UCI category 2.1 event.  [[Martin Pedersen (cyclist)|Martin Pedersen]] and [[Andy Schleck]] of [[Team CSC]] won the [[General classification|overall]] and [[King of the Mountains]] classification, respectively.  [[Mark Cavendish]] ([[T-Mobile Team]]) won the points classification and [[Johan Van Summeren]] ([[Davitamon-Lotto]]) captured the sprints classification.

====Stages====
{| class="wikitable"
! Stage
! Date
! Start
! Finish
! Distance
! colspan=2 |  Winner
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[29 August]] [[2006]]
| [[Glasgow]]
| [[Castle Douglas]]
| align=right | 162.6 km
| [[Martin Pedersen (cyclist)|Martin Pedersen]] || {{DNK}}
| [[Team CSC|CSC]]
| align="right"|4h 03'38"
|-
! 2
| [[30 August]] [[2006]]
| [[Blackpool]]
| [[Liverpool, England|Liverpool]]
| align=right | 163 km
| [[Roger Hammond (cyclist)|Roger Hammond]] || {{GBR}}
| [[Great Britain (cycling team)|GBR]]
| align="right"|3h 54'15"
|-
! 3
| [[31 August]] [[2006]]
| [[Bradford]]
| [[Sheffield]]
| align=right | 180 km
| [[Filippo Pozzato]] || {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|4h 28'18"
|-
! 4
| [[1 September]] [[2006]]
| [[Wolverhampton]]
| [[Birmingham]]
| align=right | 130.3 km
| [[Frederik Willems]] || {{BEL}}
| [[Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen|JAC]]
| align="right"|2h 54'12"
|-
! 5
| [[2 September]] [[2006]]
| [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]
| [[Canterbury]]
| align=right | 152.6 km
| [[Francesco Chicchi]] || {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|4h 24'42"
|-
! 6
| [[3 September]] [[2006]]
| [[Greenwich]]
| [[The Mall (London)|The Mall]]
| align=right | 82 km
| [[Tom Boonen]] || {{BEL}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|2h 00'41"
|}

====Final General Classification====

{| class="wikitable"
!
! Name
! Nationality
! Team
! Time
|-
! 1
| [[Martin Pedersen (cyclist)|Martin Pedersen]]
| {{DNK}}
| [[Team CSC|CSC]]
| align="right"|21h 51'24" 
|-
! 2
| [[Luis Pasamontes]]
| {{SPA}}
| [[Unibet.com Cycling Team|UNI]]
| align="right"|+ 00'51" 
|-
! 3
| [[Filippo Pozzato]]
| {{ITA}}
| [[Quick Step-Innergetic|QSI]]
| align="right"|+ 02'11" 
|}

===2007 Tour of Britain===
The Tour of Britain is being changed to seven days for 2007. The extra day is being used to run a stage in [[Somerset]] for the first time. Instead of finishing in London, the 2007 race will start in London and finish in [[Glasgow]]. Glasgow is using the event to increase the chance of it becoming the [[wikt:host|host]] of the [[2014 Commonwealth Games]].

==Other websites==
*[http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk Tour of Britain official site]


[[Category:Cycle races|Britain, Tour of]]
[[Category:Sports in the United Kingdom]]

[[cy:Tour of Britain]]
[[de:Britannien-Rundfahrt]]
[[en:Tour of Britain]]
[[es:Vuelta a Gran Bretaña]]
[[fr:Tour de Grande-Bretagne]]
[[it:Tour of Britain]]
[[nl:Ronde van Groot-Brittannië]]
[[ja:ツアー・オブ・ブリテン]]
[[no:Tour of Britain]]
[[pl:Tour of Britain]]
[[fi:Britannian ympäriajo]]