Riders excited at prospect of Devon Stage of The Tour

The Friends Life Tour of Britain will be bigger and better than ever when it returns to Devon on Thursday 11 September.

Pro rider Chris Opie, of Rapha Condor JLT, and former pro Colin Lewis today (Friday 1 August) got a preview of some of the route which will start in Exmouth and finish in Exeter.

The Devon Stage, hosted by Devon County Council and sponsored by South West Highways Ltd, will be Stage Five of the race and will cover 110miles (177km) of the county.

The Friends Life Tour of Britain 2014 will feature its biggest ever line-up of top tier UCI Pro Teams in the 19-team field, led by Team Sky, who won last year’s Tour with Sir Bradley Wiggins. Other teams taking part are Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, Movistar, BMC Racing Team, Tinkoff – Saxo, Garmin Sharp, Team Giant Shimano, and Belkin Pro Cycling. The full line-up of teams will be announced soon.

Chris Opie, from Cornwall, said: "It’s a fantastic route for this year’s Devon stage. Racing through the county in last year’s Tour of Britain was a definite highlight; the support on the roadside was, for me, unrivalled. The atmosphere on Haytor was really special. This year’s stage looks to be even more challenging, whilst potentially being a small select group that fight it out for the win it could also be one of the more exciting stages.”

The 114 riders on The Tour will face three Skoda King of the Mountains climbs at Mamhead, Haytor, on Dartmoor, and Stoke Woods, on the outskirts of Exeter.

Devon-based Olympian and two-time British Road Race Champion Colin Lewis still holds the course record of 4 minutes 23 seconds for the Stoke Woods climb time trial, set during his professional riding years on a steel frame bike.

Colin, who completed the 1967 Tour de France and still rides competitively at the age of 71, has helped develop professional riders over the years, such as Jeremy Hunt and Yanto Barker, through his role with Mid Devon Cycling Club.

He said: “This year’s route looks really, really hard and I’m sure it will be an exciting stage. Devon has some good descents and climbs, and it’s because of our high terrain that we’ve produced good riders here. I’ve ridden most of these roads and any road on Dartmoor is hard. The Tour is certainly attracting a bigger and better field of riders, and I’m sure the teams will have some good climbers for this stage.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “When The Tour last raced between Exeter and Exmouth in 2011 it was the first time Devon had hosted an entire stage, having successfully shared stages with Somerset in previous years. The Tour of Britain has continued to grow year on year, and we’re looking forward to it returning this year. With The Exe Estuary Trail nearing completion, this year’s Devon stage provides a great opportunity for people to explore some of The Trail while in the area and see for themselves what a great destination Devon is for cycling tourism. Last year we attracted a record 250,000 spectators in Devon which is good news for local businesses. We’ll be hoping that people from home and abroad join us in Devon again to see some of the world’s top cyclists in action.”

The Devon Stage will also take in Budleigh Salterton, Woodbury, Topsham, Exminster, Starcross, Bovey Tracey, Haytor, Widecombe in the Moor, Princetown, Tavistock, Okehampton, and Copplestone. There will be Yodel Direct Sprint points at Powderham Castle, Chudleigh and Crediton.

This year will be the eighth consecutive year that The Tour has visited Devon. Over the past seven years more than a million people have watched the race in Devon along the various Stage routes around the county, and it has brought in around £27 million to the local economy, with almost £5.9 million of that generated last year.

Mick Bennett, Race Director of The Tour of Britain, said: “In returning to Exmouth and Exeter we are re-treading the ground of one our most successful stages, which will bring back lots of happy memories of a memorable finish.  With the route around the Exe Estuary, across the Dartmoor National Park and into Exeter the stage is sure to be another spectacular day’s racing for spectators at the roadside, and fans at home watching on television. We look forward to more of the bumper crowds and great support that we receive every year in Devon, and are confident that this year’s Tour will give them even more to cheer about.”

The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain will start in Liverpool on Sunday 7 September and finish in London with an individual time trial and a circuit race on Sunday 14 September.

For more information go to www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk.

On Twitter follow @SWTourofBritain or like our SW Tour on Britain Facebook page.