Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medallists Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), headline the 108-rider provisional start list for the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, which gets underway in Kelso, Scottish Borders on Tuesday (3 September).
“I am looking forward to returning to racing at the Tour of Britain, after my post-Olympics break,” said Evenepoel. “My last period of racing was very special for me and it was great that I could recharge a little afterwards, but it’s time to pin on a number again as I look forward to the big races of this autumn. It is especially nice that I can start in Scotland, where I have the memories of winning the Worlds ITT race last summer."
Olympic road race and time-trial champion Evenepoel, and cross-country mountain bike champion Pidcock, will be joined by a brace of British silver medallists from the team pursuit squad in Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech).
Hayter, who is also the current Lloyds Bank British national road race champion, is part of an INEOS Grenadiers line-up who will feel well at home on stage three in South Yorkshire, with team members Ben Swift, Connor Swift, and Ben Turner, hailing from Rotherham, Thorne, and Doncaster respectively in that region.
Connor and Ben arrive at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men having finished first and third respectively at the British national gravel championships in Scotland this weekend. The INEOS Grenadiers line-up is completed by race debutant Tobias Foss, the 2022 world time-trial champion.
Vernon will be joined by a trio of Brits in his team with Jake Stewart, Stevie Williams, and recent history maker Joseph Blackmore, who last weekend became the first British rider to win the Tour de l’Avenir. Australian pair Nick Schultz and Simon Clarke, twice a top 10 overall finisher from his seven participations, complete that line-up.
Commenting on the race, Williams said; “This will be my third Tour of Britain and, after coming close to getting a really good result last year, I’m even more motivated to do well. I love racing in the UK and going there with three other British riders, it doesn’t get much better than that. Hopefully it’ll be a good week with the boys.”
Teammate Stewart added; “It’s the first time I’ll have done the race with my trade team as opposed to a national one, and we’re coming with a really strong squad that can be competitive across all the stages and the GC, especially with Stevie and Joe.
“I’m going to bring everything I’ve learned from the lead-outs in the Tour de France for the link up with Ethan. Also, I was so close to a stage win in 2022, so if the opportunity arises it would be amazing to get my hands up in the air. With the strength of the squad we’ve got it’s going to be a good week.”
The Bahrain Victorious team will make their race debut, but with a familiar name to British fans leading them in Wout Poels, who has one a stage on each of his four appearances in the race, and twice finished as runner-up overall (2015 & 2018). Among his teammates will be Pello Bilbao, who has five top 10 overall finishes across the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, with stage wins in both races.
Former Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men winner Julian Alaphilippe joins Evenepoel in the Soudal Quick-Step team, with the duo will be joined by Bretagne Classic runner-up and GiroNextGen points jersey winner Paul Magnier, neo-pro Gil Gelders, who recently finished top ten at the Deutschland Tour, Martin Svrcek, and Gianni Moscon, whose last appearance in the race in 2019 saw him finish sixth overall.
A quartet of reigning national road race champions join Hayter in displaying their special jerseys at the race, with Rasmus Pedersen (Denmark, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team), Markus Hoelgaard (Norway, Uno-X Mobility), Emīls Liepiņš (Latvia, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Norman Vahtra (Estonia, Van Rysel – Roubaix).
Liepiņš will have hometown hero Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) at his side as the Tour begins on stage one, with Onley enjoying the distinction of starting his national race in his hometown of Kelso, while teammate and fellow Scot Sean Flynn, and TRINITY Racing’s Callum Thornley, from Peebles, will also enjoy home support in the Scottish Borders on day one.
Adding to INEOS Grenadiers’ South Yorkshire contingent on home roads on day three will be Saint Piran’s James McKay, who lives in Sheffield where the race starts. Other Brits like him making their Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men debuts include Joseph Pidcock (TRINITY Racing), younger brother of Tom, Ben Wiggins (Great Britain Cycling Team), and Ben Askey (Groupama-FDJ Continental).
Among the other British riders lining up in Scotland will be Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling Team) and Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who have both won the Best British Rider prize in the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
“I’m very excited for my home race,” said Donovan. “Last year was great, with Damo [Damien Howson] and I finishing 3rd and 5th in the GC. This year, I’m aiming to take it a step further, either by winning the overall or at least securing a podium spot. Winning my home race would be incredible! The first stages will be tough, likely followed by a few sprint stages towards the end. As a team, we’re coming in with the ambition to win, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Other riders to look out for include Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), who wore the mountains jersey at the Tour de France for ten days this summer, Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who finished third overall in 2023, Jacob Scott (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland), a double winner of the King of the Mountains jersey (2019 and 2021) in the race, and Tour of Austria prologue winner Cameron Rogers (Lidl-Trek Future Racing).
Commenting on the provisional start list, Rod Ellingworth, Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men Race Director, said; “We are very excited by the line-up of teams and riders who will be on the start line in Kelso on Tuesday, headlined by our 2024 Paris Olympic Games medallists.
“The publication of the provisional start list adds to the sense of excitement building around the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, and we now can’t wait to get racing underway, and for six days of action packed racing for fans to look forward to.”
In total 18 teams, including six that participated in this summer’s Tour de France, from 12 countries will line-up in Scotland for stage one on Tuesday 3 September for a field of 108 riders.
The Scottish Borders stage is followed by legs in the Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and West Northamptonshire, before concluding in Suffolk on Sunday 8 September after six stages of action-packed racing.
Fans wanting to see Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe, and more in action firsthand at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men can now book and enjoy a range of premium hospitality opportunities and experiences, available via Sportive Breaks here.
