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2009 Tour of Britain winner Edvald Boasson Hagen will return to the Aviva Tour of Britain this September as he leads the MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung team in the eight-stage race from 6 to 13 September.
It will be the first time that the Norwegian has ridden in the Aviva Tour of Britain since he won the 2009 edition, taking four stages along the way. Fellow stage winner Gerald Ciolek, who took victory between Carlisle and Kendal in 2013, will also return as part of a strong six-rider line-up. Joining him in the MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung line-up will be Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot, who made history at the Tour de France by becoming the first African rider to wear the iconic polka dot King of the Mountains jersey. Serge Pauwels will also come to the Aviva Tour of Britain off the back of a strong Tour de France, having finished a career best 13th overall before going on to finish second in last weekend's test event for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Road Race. The final two members of the provisional MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung line-up are former Tour de France stage winner Tyler Farrar and South African Reinardt Janse van Regensburg. "I have good memories from winning stages in the Aviva Tour of Britain in the past, and look forward to come back to race there again. My form has been pretty good over the last few weeks, so I hope to get some good results in some of the stages", says Bassoon Hagen. Boasson Hagen, who is the reigning Norwegian National Road Race Champion, has twice before ridden in the Aviva Tour of Britain – in 2009 when he took four stage wins as well as both the Yellow and Points Jerseys, and in 2008 when he won three stages and the Sprints Jersey. "We are always pleased to welcome back former winners of the Aviva Tour of Britain so are delighted to see Edvald returning to the race,” said Race Director Mick Bennett. "This is a very strong line-up from MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung, showing a real sign of intent and their ambitions towards the race. In particular we are excited to welcome Daniel Teklehaimanot to make his debut at the Aviva Tour of Britain after his strong showing in the Tour de France.” Stage One of the Aviva Tour of Britain will be shown live on ITV between 1pm and 4pm, with subsequent stages shown live on ITV4. ITV4 will also broadcast a one hour highlights programme the evening of every stage. British Eurosport will also show live coverage and highlights of the race in the UK. Live coverage and highlights will also be shown worldwide in excess of 120 countries. The Aviva 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 door step. |
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Stage One Sunday 6 September Beaumaris, Anglesey to Wrexham, 177.7km Stage Two Monday 7 September Clitheroe to Colne, 159.3km Stage Three Tuesday 8 September Cockermouth to Floors Castle, Kelso, 216km Stage Four Wednesday 9 September Edinburgh to Blyth, 217.4km Stage Five Thursday 10 September Prudhoe to Hartside, 166.2km Stage Six Friday 11 September Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham, 192.8km Stage Seven Saturday 12 September Fakenham to Ipswich, 227.4km Stage Eight Sunday 13 September London stage presented by TfL, 86.8km The full list of 20 teams for the Aviva Tour of Britain is as follows: An Post Chain Reaction (Ireland); BMC Racing (USA); Cult Energy Pro Cycling (Denmark); Etixx Quick-Step (Belgium); Great Britain national team; IAM Cycling (Switzerland); Lotto Soudal (Belgium); JLT Condor presented by Mavic (Great Britain); Madison Genesis (Great Britain); Movistar Team (Spain); MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung (South Africa); NFTO (Great Britain); ONE Pro Cycling (Great Britain); Team Cannondale – Garmin (USA); Team Lotto NL Jumbo (Netherlands); Team Novo Nordisk (USA); Team Raleigh – GAC (Great Britain); Team Sky (Great Britain); Team WIGGINS (Great Britain); Tinkoff – Saxo (Russia) The Aviva Tour of Britain Re-launched in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, the Aviva 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. The Aviva Tour of Britain is the UK's highest ranked professional stage race and the country's largest free-to-watch sporting event. |