Sir Bradley Wiggins confirmed for Tour of Britain

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - 5:00pm

Sir Bradley Wiggins will race in the Tour of Britain in less than two weeks time.

And it could be the last time Devon gets to see the cycling superstar in a competitive race.

Sir Bradley, the 2012 Tour de France champion who recently won his eighth Olympic medal taking  Gold in the Team Pursuit in Rio for Great Britain - and setting a new world record - alongside Owain Doull, will ride in Britain’s biggest professional cycle race for his own Team WIGGINS.

Team WIGGINS, which includes Doull and Jonathan Dibben, will join the likes of Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel and Steve Cummings for the race which begins in George Square in Glasgow on Sunday 4 September.

Doull finished third overall in the Tour of Britain in 2015 and won the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey.  The 23-year-old Welshman put in a stunningly consistent performance last September to finish in the top 10 on all bar one stage, helping him to an overall podium and top Brit.

Joining Wiggins and Doull will be 22-year-old Jonathan Dibben who will be riding his third Tour of Britain.  The remaining three riders in the Team WIGGINS line-up will be confirmed closer to the race.

This year, 2016, will be the ninth edition of the modern Tour of Britain ridden by Sir Bradley Wiggins, with the five times Olympic Champion having ridden in the past four editions.  The World Hour Record holder won the 2013 Tour of Britain overall, and finished third in 2014 when he won the final stage time trial in central London.

Stage Six of this year’s Tour of Britain is being hosted by Devon County Council and partners East Devon District Council, Teignbridge District Council, Dartmoor National Park and Sidmouth Town Council and takes place on September 9.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “It’s fantastic news that this Tour of Britain will see the biggest names in cycling in Greipel, Cavendish and now gold medallists Bradley Wiggins and Owain Doull. The fact that the Tour regularly attracts the biggest names in world cycling demonstrates the global stature of the competition.
“I’m sure everyone will be delighted to see Sir Bradley return for what will be one of his last competitive races of his glittering career and what might be the last time we will see him racing in our county.
“I look forward to welcoming him to Devon,  he is always a big draw and to have him racing through our county we can expect plenty of visitors and an excellent turnout right across Devon again – which is great news for the local economy. “We have more of the top teams competing in the race than ever before so it should be an exciting race.”

Tour of Britain Race Director Mick Bennett said; “We are delighted to be welcoming two of our Olympic Champions to the Tour of Britain just three weeks after their success in Rio. As a former winner of the Tour of Britain it is always a pleasure to welcome Sir Bradley Wiggins back to Britain’s biggest race, while Owain Doull was the star of the 2015 Tour, showing he has a very bright future ahead of him.”

Councillor George Gribble, Teignbridge District Council's Deputy Leader and Executive Spokesman for Recreation and Leisure said:
“It’s a huge honour and great privilege to have Sir Bradley Wiggins joining the Tour and fresh from his gold winning Olympic success. This is a special opportunity for supporters to line the spectacular Devon route and cheer on one of the world’s greatest cyclists and Olympians.
“With such a fine gathering of international cyclists and teams participating in the Tour, it’s great news that Team WIGGINS have returned to showcase the emerging British talent coming up through the ranks.”

Councillor Iain Chubb, East Devon District Council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said: “The Tour of Britain’s Devon leg has just gone up another notch in the thrill stakes with the announcement of Team Wiggins line-up. So to watch Sir Bradley Wiggins and his top class team tackle our East Devon hills is going to be riveting viewing. Fresh from his Olympian gold medal success, Sir Bradley is on cracking form, so I urge everyone to take this amazing opportunity to see Wiggo live in this country.”

Andrew Watson, Dartmoor National Park's Head of Recreation & Access said: “It’s great to hear that Bradley Wiggins is riding the Tour of Britain this year .  Spectators to the event are going to be able to see the world’s top riders taking on a challenging Devon Stage, culminating in the only summit finish this year at Haytor.”

Three-hours of live coverage will be broadcast from each stage of the Tour of Britain, with both ITV4 and the BIKE Channel UK showing the race live, while ITV4 will also air a one-hour highlights programme each day.

The Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their door step.

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