Wales will host the final two days of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race and the UK’s largest free-to-spectate live sporting event this September, as the Tour of Britain Men builds to a spectacular finale across the south Wales climbs.

Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th September will see the world’s top cyclists racing two arduous stages across south Wales, taking in Pontypool, Newport, and Cardiff, plus the famous climb of The Tumble, near Abergavenny, in what is anticipated to be the final race of INEOS Grenadiers rider Geraint Thomas’ illustrious career.

Pontypool, in Torfaen, will host the start of stage five on Saturday 6^th, as the British national tour visits for the first time, with a route through Monmouthshire, that will culminate in a double ascent of The Tumble, which averages 8.2% across its five kilometres.

The final stage, on Sunday 7^th will start from the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport, home to Beicio Cymru.

After crossing the climbs and valleys of south Wales, the leg will pass the Maindy Velodrome, home to the Maindy Flyers Cycling Club that produced Geraint Thomas, among other Welsh stars, ahead of the finish in Cardiff city centre.

The news follows Wales hosting the National Road Championships in Aberaeron and Aberystwyth in late June, as part of a three-year agreement between the Welsh Government and British Cycling, that saw Sam Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) and Mille Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) crowned road race champions.

“We’re excited to welcome the Men’s Tour of Britain back to Wales once again, an event we have proudly supported over a number of years,” said Jack Sargeant, Welsh Government Minister with responsibility for Sport.

“The Tour has found a successful home in Wales, and each time it returns it showcases our cities, towns, communities and landscapes to an international audience, as well as attracting athletes from all over the world.

“As we continue our preparations for welcoming a stage of the Tour de France in 2027, these final two Tour of Britain stages represent another exciting chapter in Wales’ story as an internationally recognised destination for the very best cycling events.  Wales truly is a nation made for bikes, and we’re delighted to demonstrate that on the world stage.”

September will mark the second time that Cardiff has hosted the overall finish of the Tour of Britain, having done so in 2017, and only the third time in the modern race’s 21-year history that the event has finished in Wales.

Newport has twice before hosted the Tour of Britain, most recently in 2018, when André Greipel won the opening stage, while The Tumble has once before been a finish, 11 years ago (2014) when Edoardo Zardini took a memorable solo victory at the summit.

As part of the weekend of racing in Wales, amateur cyclists will also be able to contest the official Lloyds Tour of Britain Ride the Route on 6^th September.

Starting and finishing from the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport, participants will have the opportunity to ride parts of the routes of the final stage a day ahead of the professionals.

“It’s incredibly special to see Wales hosting the final two stages of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men – a real showcase of world-class cycling set against the spectacular backdrop of our climbs, communities and cycling culture,” said Caroline Spanton, CEO of Beicio Cymru.

“To see the peloton pass places like Maindy Velodrome and The Tumble, and to welcome the race into Cardiff, is especially poignant in what is expected to be Geraint Thomas’ final professional road race – a fitting tribute to one of Wales’ most iconic athletes.”

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men begins in East Suffolk on Tuesday 2^nd September, with an opening leg between Woodbridge and Southwold, followed by a second stage in Suffolk at Stowmarket, and legs taking in Milton Keynes and Central Bedfordshire, and Warwickshire before the race arrives in Wales.

 

Stages:

Stage one	Tuesday 2 September	Woodbridge to Southwold
Stage two	Wednesday 3 September	Stowmarket to Stowmarket
Stage three	Thursday 4 September	Milton Keynes to Ampthill
Stage four	Friday 5 September	Atherstone to Burton Dassett Hills Country Park
Stage five	Saturday 6 September	Pontypool to The Tumble
Stage six	Sunday 7 September	Newport to Cardiff

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