Tour of Britain 2026 Men & Women Thread (Spoilers!)

[katiewlx]

I was wanting to go to the top of Greenhow which one of the big KOM climbs on Stage 4. There there will definitely be a road closure, hence my question. I rode that part of the route on Monday and it was pretty chilly with sqally showers at the top - hence me wanting to avoid hanging around for two hours. Weather is looking better though for this Saturday so maybe I'll just pack an extra layer.

yes I know that, but alot of people are just mentioning the ToB rolling road block setup, no issues riding the course unless the road block is there.

and I wanted to make the distinction for you, thats just the standard ToB op process. this climb, as do several of the others I noted on this particular stage, has a specific additional road closure notice on it, not a the race might pass between this time per the schedule, an actual this road will be closed between these times ie the 2hr window

meaning it is different to the normal state of things and certainly Ive not experienced how the race marshalls/volunteers most likely deal with cyclists attempting to pass them in that situation other than at the start/finishes where they barrier it off and absolutely wont let you ride through, though theres more reason for that in a start or finish context, than say a mid point KOM.

so I cant really offer any advice on this specific situation it other than I suspect you may well have to hang around for a few hours.

 

[mjr]

so I cant really offer any advice on this specific situation it other than I suspect you may well have to hang around for a few hours.

Or walk along the footway or verges from the point you hit the closed road. A couple of hours should be enough to get from an open side road to most places.

 

[mididoctors]

View: https://www.youtube.com/live/egA7ys2eK9g?is=3tfE9fgV_1zazzTU

 

[mididoctors]

Proper flatland racing

 

[mididoctors]

 

[Pross]

700m at 3.6% getting categorised as a hill

 

[mjr]

700m at 3.6% getting categorised as a hill

But British roads are surfaced with kitty litter, which makes then really draggy, honest! 😉

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Proper flatland racing

I never realised that Britain was such a flat country until the ToB came along.
It’s really sad how they go out of their way to produce these billiard table parcour, year after year.

 

[mididoctors]

[

I never realised that Britain was such a flat country until the ToB came along.
It’s really sad how they go out of their way to produce these billiard table parcour, year after year.

Oddly it's been a decent race so far

 

[mididoctors]

 

[Webbo2]

Lead down to 57 seconds now.

 

[mididoctors]

Headwind sprint

 

[mididoctors]

Olaf

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Oops, forgot about this and just saw the sprint replay.

 

[katiewlx]

I never realised that Britain was such a flat country until the ToB came along.
It’s really sad how they go out of their way to produce these billiard table parcour, year after year.

its largely a deliberate choice, based on the unique way the race operates within the UK & is funded vs I guess how most other European countries at least setup their races.

the whole idea is to produce the kind of stage, its compact, you might get a breakaway but theyll only get 1minute, the climbs arent too challenging, and then everything combines at the end for a sprint finish like we had today, because its what most of the Brit public expect of their cycle races.

Id like to see them mimic the Fred Whitton for a stage one year, the route is there, but they wont though because it wont produce a crowd/sponsor pleasing sprint finish. and the Lake District wont sponsor a stage because I doubt they feel they need to promote the place to tourists.

so no Britain is not flat, there are plenty of hills and climbs a cycle race could use, unfortunately theyre in places that dont see the need for a cycle race so wont pay for them to visit, and the sponsors that do pay for the race want that whole hooplah they have at stage finishes in Britain