With the final stage of the 2022 edition of the Tour of Britain pro cycling event just seven months away, an update was presented today by organisers SweetSpot and their IW partner, Isle of Wight council.
As previously reported by News OnTheWight, the Isle of Wight will be hosting the final stage of this prestigious cycling event in September 2022, bringing with it many economic and community benefits
World-class cyclists from around the World
The Tour of Britain cycling race, which attracts World-class cyclists from around the World, begins in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on 4th September 2022 and finishes on the Isle of Wight on 11th September.
As well as all the top teams taking part in the race, it’s also an opportunity for domestic teams to cut their teeth against these World stars of cycling.
Over 100,00 people watching final stage
Over the course of the eight days of the race, over 1.5m people come out to watch it, bringing great value to the economy of wherever it’s passing through.
Jonathan Durling, the Partnerships Director for organisers, SweetSpot, explained there would be in excess of 100,000 people watching the broadcast of the final stage of the race, with many of those coming over to the Island to watch it live.
With an excess of 100 markets across the World taking the TV coverage, this is an opportunity to shine a great spotlight on the Island.
For an idea of what to expect, here’s some footage from last year.
Not just cycling
It’s important to note that Tour of Britain is not just about the sporting elements. Every edition of the Race sees extraordinary community activities and events take place.
Cornwall played host to the grand depart in 2021, making it the biggest sporting event to ever take place in the county, and (on land) it will be the same for the Island.
Jonathan explained that in every town and village where the race went through, there were street parties and BBQs, the race bringing with it a real opportunity for the community to celebrate being outdoors, cycling etc.
Land art competition
Each year there’s also a land art competition, which gets picked up by helicopters and is shown on TV.
Naturally there’ll be prizes for the best examples and it’s something that schools can get involved with.
Over the coming months there’ll be an opportunity for volunteers to sign up to get involved, as well as for local businesses and brands to agree sponsorship deals.
Where and when
Details of the location of the start of the race will be revealed on Thursday next week (10th Feb), whilst the finish location of the route won’t be revealed until March.
We’ll have to wait until April to know the entire route of the race across the Island, which begins late morning on the 11th September and finished in the late afternoon.
Other events
It was mentioned that a sportive cycling event is planned for Saturday 10th September, which would allow members of the public to cycle parts of the the route.
An exclusive event the Saturday evening will see a Q&A with cycling celebrities and retired professionals, and an amateur TT event is being looked at for the stage finish (which is expected to be somewhere pretty steep) before the pros ride up it.
The Milk Race
Alex Minns, Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods at Isle of Wight council explained that the Tour of Britain had actually taken place on the Island 55 years ago when it was known as The Milk Race.
He explained that the council recognise in current climate, after the pandemic, that there’s a need to get things back to normal, and that as a major visitor attraction in the UK, they want to build on those strengths.
Showcasing the Island
The IWC see this event as an opportunity to showcase the Isle of Wight scenery, and its cycle network, “one of the best in the world”, he added.
A conservative estimate of the number of spectators coming across Solent to watch the final stage of the Tour of Britain was pitched at 10,000, but it could potentially be much more as it hasn’t been in the South East of the UK for some time.
We’ll be hearing much more about the Tour of Britain over the coming months.
Find out more
Follow the Tour of Britain on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or via the event’s official Website.
Article edit
9.30am 3rd Feb 2022 – Video footage added and reference to AJ Bell removed
Image: © Sweetspot / Tour of Britain
