Tour of Britain 2019: The Route

With a start in Glasgow and finish in Manchester, the Tour of Britain focuses largely on the north of England and Scotland. The race kicked into gear last Saturday to finish next Saturday. The 2019 Tour of Britain serves two uphill finishes - in Kendal and the Burton Dassett Hills.

The Tour of Britain kicks off in George Square in Glasgow city centre with the longest stage of the 8-day race. At 201.5 kilometres, the 1st stage heads to Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, while passing through Kilmarnock, Dalmellington and Carsphairn on their way south.

The race stays for two days in Scotland. Starting and finishing on the cobbled Market Square in Kelso, the 2nd stage takes place entirely within the Scottish Borders. The route moves through Melrose, Duns and Coldstream along the way.

Stage 3 is a North of Tyne race from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The picturesque route takes in Northumberland and North Tyneside before a slightly uphill finish in Newcastle’s city centre.

The Tour of Britain stays another day in England’s North East for its 4th stage, which runs on a lumpy route over the Pennines and through the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Accumulating almost 3,000 metres of climbing, this is the Queen stage with a finish on the 500 metres, 11% slope of Beast Banks in Kendal.

The 5th stage is the second race with a shared start/finish, while it marks the Tour of Britain’s return to Merseyside for the first time in five years. The spectator friendly circuit starts and finishes in Birkenhead Park before stage 6 is a flat ITT with start and finish in Pershore.

Warwickshire is the setting of stage 7. The race sets off from historic Warwick before the 186.5 kilometres route takes the riders to an action packed finale with three ascents of the Burton Dassett climb, which is 1.4 kilometres long and slopes at 4.9%. Uphill finish!

The Tour of Britain doesn’t serve a parade race on its last day of action. The ultimate stage adds up to almost 2,000 metres of climbing, including an ascent of the Rake at Ramsbottom. The finish is in Deansgate, Manchester. So London misses out on a stage for the second time in three years, while the Tour of Britain returns to Manchester for the first time in fifteen years.

The 2019 edition covers a total of 1,250 kilometres.