Elite duo confirmed for Warwickshire-bound Tour of Britain
WARWICKSHIRE is set to welcome two of cycling’s elite after the pair were announced to compete in Britain’s premier road race.
Home favourite Alex Dowsett and German sprinter Marcel Kittel have been revealed as part of Swiss-based Katusha Alpecin’s six man line-up for the OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2018, which comes to Warwickshire next month.
Fans will get the chance to meet stars of the sport in the team village in Nuneaton town centre, where the likes of Dowsett and Kittel will be making their final preparations before taking to the Warwickshire roads for the 185km journey across the county.
Fourteen-time Tour de France stage winner Kittel last competed in the race in 2014, winning both the first and last stage of the tour in Liverpool and London respectively.
Dowsett won an individual time trial in London in 2011’s tour, and came within two days of claiming the 2014 title after heroically aggressive performances across several days.
The Essex rider, who is part of an exclusive group to have held the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour, has finished all seven of his starts in the race, posting five top 10 stage finishes.
“This is the first of many exciting rider announcements we’ll be making in the build-up to this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain,” said race director Mick Bennett.
“It’s always exciting when two of our former stage winners return to the race, especially when they’re of the calibre of Alex Dowsett and Marcel Kittel.
“It goes without saying that Marcel is a rider to watch in the bunch sprints, while this year’s unpredictable and innovative race route is similar to that from 2014 – an edition that Alex so nearly claimed the overall victory in.”
The 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain features 20 teams, 13 of whom competed in this year’s Tour de France. For the second year running, each stage of the race will be shown live and in full on ITV4. Eurosport will also air daily live coverage.
Racing through all five Warwickshire districts and boroughs, stage four of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain will be taking place on Wednesday, 5th September.
Competitors will set off from Nuneaton at 11am, heading towards Atherstone before taking in the North Warwickshire countryside and arriving in Meriden.
The route then takes riders to the University of Warwick, before passing Kenilworth and Warwick Castles. Heading south into Stratford upon Avon, competitors will also have to take on three SKODA King of the Mountain climbs again – an ascent of more than 1,700 metres.
The first of those will be at Ilmington, before the second at Edge Hill, just on the outskirts of Arlescote, while the third awaits in Burton Dassett Country Park.
It will then head through Moreton Morrell, Wellesbourne, Kineton, Tysoe and Shipston-on-Stour, Fenny Compton and Southam, and then towards Princethorpe in Rugby before finishing in the centre of Leamington Spa.
