2016 Tour of Britain Caps a Great Year of Cycling
This year’s Tour of Britain has been acclaimed as the very best edition of the UK’s national Tour to date by riders, fans, venues and sponsors alike, as the eight day race attracted millions of spectators both live at the roadside and on television.
The race, which finished in London on Sunday 11 September, was won overall by Britain’s Steve Cummings, who took the Yellow Jersey presented by Eisberg following a dramatic summit finish to Stage Six in Devon on the Friday.
The Tour comes towards the end of a season that saw continued home success in cycling, with British riders winning 29-medals at the Rio Olympics and Paralympics, as well as seven stages of the Tour de France, plus the race overall for the third time in four years. The year also saw British Cycling surpass the milestone of 125,000 members for the first time in their history, an increase of 75,000 since London 2012.
Commenting on the race, Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive of the Tour said: “This year’s Tour of Britain has been a huge success from both a sporting and organisational perspective. The Tour continues to attract the world’s top riders, and this year’s field was the best by someway, with those riders responding magnificently to the support of the British public across the eight days."
“Our plans for the 2017 edition of The Tour are well underway as we look to build upon the success of this year in our work with current partners while also identifying new opportunities for major brands who wish to engage and connect with the fantastic audience the race enjoys across the nation. Our three main objectives are to be the best connected, the most sustainable and the greatest of British!”
Over 40-hours of free-to-air coverage from the Tour of Britain was screened by ITV4, including over 25-hours of live programming, while worldwide distribution of all programming saw the race broadcast to audiences on every continent.
The millions at the roadside and watching on television were treated to eight days of unparalleled action, with nine different stage winners during the Tour including stellar names from the world of professional cycling. Seven Olympic medallists from Rio took part, headlined by Gold medallists Sir Bradley Wiggins and Owain Doull, with The Tour attracting a world-class field from 21 teams, 11 of whom had ridden in this summer’s Tour de France.
The 2016 route combined major cities like Glasgow, Bristol and London with historic market towns such as Congleton and Kendal. The Tour of Britain also continued to showcase the very best in British scenery to the worldwide television audience, including iconic British locations such as the National Parks of the Lake District, Peak District and Dartmoor.
Commenting on The Tour, Erica Vernon, National Communications Manager, ŠKODA UK said: "“This was our sixth year as both Official Car Partner and king of the mountains jersey sponsor of the Tour of Britain. Once again it proved to be an amazing experience with stunning locations and exciting racing – offering the perfect platform to showcase our award winning range to a broad, diverse and engaging audience.”
Speaking after the final stage in London and clinching the Yellow Jersey presented by Eisberg, Steve Cummings of Team Dimension Data said: "“All week the crowds have been fantastic. Here in Britain people are loving their cycling now and it’s a really cool thing because it’s free to watch. You get a buzz and you get goosebumps from the crowds and they push you on so it’s great.”
Multiple Grand Tour stage winner Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant Alpecin praised the support describing “amazing crowds and great support all week” while 30-time Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish said, “It makes me so happy seeing how many people enjoy coming out to see the Tour of Britain nowadays, another world from 10-years ago.”
Among the other major commercial partners involved in The Tour were global brands such as Chain Reaction Cycles, Alpecin and Brother, plus a wide range of cycling brands including HIGH5 sports nutrition and Vittoria wheels and tyres.
Over 30 local authority partners worked with Tour of Britain organisers SweetSpot across the event, engaging with communities across Scotland, England and Wales, and in particular hundreds of schools that came to the event on each of the five weekday stages, ensuring that The Tour once again provided an inspirational platform to engage with the next generation of cyclists across the country.
The Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event and will return to the nation’s roads next September.
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