If you’ve ever watched the Tour de France during the summer, and wondered if there was a British equivalent, then there’s a nationwide race out there just for you.
The Tour of Britain may not have the global appeal or recognition of its sister race across the Channel, but it’s a race that is steeped in history in its own right. The modern-day version has been going strong for more than two decades and attracts some of the best riders in the world to the UK every autumn.
In this blog, we’ll give you all the basics on the Tour of Britain, including its fascinating past, what to look forward to in this year’s race, how the women’s edition has been revived, and how to go about organising a cycling tour to ride yourself.
The history of the Tour of Britain
The first cross-Britain or round-Britain stage races took place during and shortly after the Second World War. But the idea of a full-scale tour of Britain really took hold when the Milk Marketing Board began to sponsor the race in 1958. The race was simply called The Milk Race and became one of the most well-known annual sporting events in the country. The name recognition was so strong that the sponsorship continued all the way through to the MMB’s disbanding in 1993.
Parallel to the Milk Race (and completing a very nice breakfast!) was the Kellogg’s Tour, aimed firmly at professionals and running from 1987 until 1994. After this, the idea of a British tour had a difficult few years financially, the PruTour lasting just two years in 1998 and 1999.
It was only in 2004 that the Tour of Britain as we know it today began, and thanks to the rise of the popularity of cycling in the UK (fuelled by Olympic success and riders like Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins), it’s now a firmly established event at international level.
In recent years, the race has even hosted farewell rides for some of Britain’s biggest stars – and in 2025, all eyes will be on Geraint Thomas, who will bow out of professional cycling at the Cardiff finale.
Who has won the Tour of Britain?
The original Milk Race was often won by some of the best British amateur racers of the day, as participation by full professionals wasn’t allowed until 1985. Top British winners in the Kellogg’s Tour include Malcolm Elliott (1987), Robert Millar (1989) and Max Sciandri (1992). In the 90s, the race started to get more international interest, and was won by the Australian Phil Anderson twice (1991 and 1993) and the Italian legend Maurizio Fondriest in 1994. Of the two PruTours that ran in the late 90s, the star Australian sprinter Stuart O’Grady won the first edition in 1998.
Since it was revived in 2004, the Tour of Britain has been a much more international affair, and while it isn’t part of the top-line UCI World Tour, it still attracts some of the best riders on the planet. Part of this is thanks to its late position in the year, when there are relatively few major races other than the Vuelta a España and the World Championship.
Star riders who have won the modern version include Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015), Bradley Wiggins (2013), Dylan van Baarle (2014), Julian Alaphilippe (2018), Mathieu van der Poel (2019) and Wout van Aert (2021). More recently, the event has become a proving ground for younger GC contenders and a showcase for British domestic teams taking on the world’s elite.
How the Tour of Britain works today
The modern-day Tour of Britain normally takes place over six to eight stages, starting on a Sunday and finishing the following weekend. Its traditional place in the cycling calendar is in early September. Most of the stages are normal mass-start road stages, but it’s also common to have one time trial at some point during the event.
There are five main classifications that the riders contest over the course of the race:
General classification
This is the overall competition, won by the rider that completes the Tour in the lowest possible time. The leader of this classification wears the red jersey.
Points classification
This classification awards points to riders who finish in the top positions at the end of each stage, with the leader wearing the blue jersey.
Sprint classification
The sprint classification works in the same way as the points equivalent, with riders racing for points at predetermined sprint lines along each stage. The leader of this classification wears the white jersey.
King of the Mountains
The summits of any mountains or major hills on each stage count as points-awarding locations for the King of the Mountains competition. The higher and more difficult the climb, the more points awarded for the first riders to reach that point. The green jersey is awarded to the leader in this competition.
Team classification
In order to determine the best-performing team in the race, the times of each team’s best three riders in each stage are added together.
For 2025, there’s an added layer of emotion: the event will serve as Geraint Thomas’s professional farewell, ensuring huge crowds are expected on Welsh roads for the closing stages.
What is the route for the Tour of Britain in 2025?
The route for the Tour of Britain changes substantially every year, so that the race covers as much of the UK as possible in the longer term. Unlike many cycling stage races, where one stage will finish close to the start point of the following day’s route, Tour of Britain stages tend to be relatively spread out across the country.
For 2025, the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men will run from 2 to 7 September across six stages, covering around 886 km. Here’s the confirmed breakdown:
- Woodbridge → Southwold (161 km, flat) – A sprinter’s opener along the Suffolk coast, with the potential for crosswinds to split the peloton.
- Stowmarket loop (169 km, flat) – Another fast stage, but technical sections could make for a chaotic finale.
- Milton Keynes → Ampthill (123 km, flat) – Short and sharp, designed for explosive racing and another opportunity for the sprinters.
- Atherstone → Burton Dassett Hills (187 km, hilly) – A key GC day featuring six categorised climbs, including the tough Burton Dassett ascent tackled multiple times.
- Torfaen → The Tumble (133 km, hilly) – A return to one of Wales’s most iconic climbs, the Tumble, where the GC battle could be decided.
- Newport → Cardiff (112 km, hilly) – The grand finale, finishing in the Welsh capital, expected to be one of the biggest cycling crowds in Britain this decade as Geraint Thomas closes his career.
In addition to the men’s event, the Tour of Britain Women (5–8 June 2025) delivered a thrilling four-day contest, running through North Yorkshire, Teesside, the Scottish Borders, and a Glasgow city-centre circuit finale. New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston claimed overall victory, while Britain’s Cat Ferguson won both the points and youth classifications. Glasgow hosting the final stage marked a significant milestone for the race and a powerful showcase for women’s cycling in the UK.
Is there a women’s Tour of Britain?
Yes – after cancellations in previous years due to funding, the race returned stronger in 2025 under its new branding as the Tour of Britain Women.
The four-stage race drew huge crowds, particularly on the notorious Saltburn Bank climb in Stage 2 (averaging 11% and peaking over 20% gradient), and finished with a city-circuit spectacle in Glasgow. This year’s edition was also memorable as Lizzie Deignan’s final UK race, a fitting farewell for one of Britain’s greatest-ever riders.
The return of the women’s event not only strengthens cycling’s inclusivity in Britain but also cements the Tour of Britain’s place as a twin celebration of elite men’s and women’s racing.
What if I want to do my own Tour of Britain?
The only thing between you and touring some (or all!) of the UK on your bike is your own willpower. The UK is such a varied country in terms of sights, landscape and terrain that you have complete freedom to devise a trip that is realistic for your fitness, doesn’t break the bank, and still gives you that spirit of adventure.
You can try and take on some of the traditional long-distance challenges, such as Land’s End to John O’Groats, or the North Coast 500 around the Scottish Highlands. Alternatively, you can set your own itinerary around some of our National Parks: the Lake District is full of challenging climbs, while the Yorkshire Dales are a cycling hotspot after the area hosted the start of the Tour de France in 2014.
For something more accessible, you can even download GPX files of recent Tour of Britain stages (many are available through official race pages and cycling forums) and ride them yourself — whether that’s the Suffolk sprint routes, the Burton Dassett climb, or the iconic Tumble in Wales.
And if you’re trying to keep costs down to a minimum, why not plan a trip that starts from your front door? A good way of giving yourself something to aim for is to plot a route from home to your nearest seaside town – in the spirit of the London to Brighton ride – and then coming home with your bike on the train.
Watching the 2025 Race
If you can’t make it roadside, you’re still in luck. The men’s Tour of Britain will be broadcast free in the UK on ITV4 and ITVX, with live coverage of every stage plus highlights. The women’s race had global streaming through the UCI Women’s WorldTour feed, with BBC coverage in the UK.
So whether you’re standing on a windswept Suffolk seafront, screaming on the barriers in Cardiff, or following every pedal stroke from your sofa, the Tour of Britain 2025 promises to be one of the most memorable editions yet.
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