| The opening Liverpool stage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain will be televised live on ITV for the first time this September. Three hours of action from the opening stage of the 2014 race in Liverpool will be shown live on ITV on Sunday 7th September, getting Britain's biggest professional cycle race underway in front of the biggest possible audience. Niall Sloane, ITV's Director of Sport, said: "Following our extremely popular coverage of this year's Tour de France, we're delighted for the first time to bring ITV viewers live coverage of the first day of country's major cycling event. The fact the rest of the event is on ITV4 complements the channel's extensive cycling offer.” Live daily coverage will then switch to ITV4 from Stage Two, Knowsley to Llandudno, onwards, with three hours of action being shown daily, while ITV4 will retain the popular one-hour highlights show each evening, with both programmes hosted by Ned Boulting. Commenting on the announcement, Mick Bennett, Race Director for the Friends Life Tour of Britain said; "The addition of the ITV coverage for Stage One is a great boost for the race, our partners and of course the many hundreds of thousands of spectators who tune in to watch the race each day. "We hope that being on ITV for the Liverpool stage will expose the race to new audiences, who will continue to tune in across the subsequent seven stages. With the route, and the line-up of teams and riders we will have on the start line in Liverpool, there is sure to be great action, in some fantastic locations, for ITV viewers to enjoy.” Full details of the ITV coverage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain are listed below: Friends Life Tour of Britain, ITV Transmission times Sunday 7th September 14:00 – 17:00, Stage One Liverpool, LIVE, ITV 21:00 – 22:00, Highlights, ITV4 Monday 8th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Two Knowsley to Llandudno, LIVE, ITV4 20:00 – 21:00, Highlights, ITV4 Tuesday 9th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Three, Newtown to the Tumble, LIVE, ITV4 22:00 – 23:00, Highlights, ITV4 Wednesday 10th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Four, Worcester to Bristol, LIVE, ITV4 20:00 – 21:00, Highlights, ITV4 Thursday 11th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Five, Exmouth to Exeter, LIVE, ITV4 20:00 – 21:00, Highlights, ITV4 Friday 12th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Six, Bath to Hemel Hempstead, LIVE, ITV4 20:00 – 21:00, Highlights, ITV4 Saturday 13th September 13:00 – 16:00, Stage Seven, Camberley to Brighton, LIVE, ITV4 20:00 – 21:00, Highlights, ITV4 Sunday 14th September 15:00 – 18:00, Stage Eight, London, LIVE, ITV4 21:00 – 22:00, Highlights, ITV4 The Friends Life Tour of Britain will also be screened on British Eurosport in the UK, while details of the worldwide distribution of the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain programming will be confirmed ahead of the Liverpool grand depart. |
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The Friends Life Tour of Britain Re-launched in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, the Friends Life Tour of Britain is now the UK's biggest professional cycle race and the country's largest free-to-watch sporting event. Upgraded to 2.HC level by the UCI, the sport's governing body, for 2014, the Friends Life Tour of Britain attracts the world's top cyclists, including Olympic and World Champions and Tour de France stage winners, to compete on British roads each September. The Friends Life Tour of Britain 2014 Stage One Sunday 7 September Liverpool Stage Two Monday 8 September Knowsley to Llandudno Stage Three Tuesday 9 September Newtown to the Tumble Stage Four Wednesday 10 September Worcester to Bristol Stage Five Thursday 11 September Exmouth to Exeter Stage Six Friday 12 September Bath to Hemel Hempstead Stage Seven Saturday 13 September Camberley to Brighton Stage Eight a Sunday 14 September London individual time trial, presented by TfL Stage Eight b Sunday 14 September London circuit race, presented by TfL |