Peebles handed stage start in Tour of Britain

PEEBLES’ status as one of the hubs of the Scottish cycling scene was underlined yesterday when the route of this year’s Tour of Britain was unveiled in London, and the small Borders town was confirmed as the venue for a stage start.

Stage three, on Monday 14 September, will roll out from Peebles for a 170km leg to finish in Dumfries and Galloway. The eight-day race, billed as the UK’s biggest live sporting event, with an estimated million roadside spectators last year, starts in Scunthorpe on Saturday 12 September before finishing in central London the following Saturday with a showcase stage on a 9km circuit that takes in Whitehall, the Tower of London and Parliament Square before finishing outside Downing Street.

Ninety-six riders from 16 teams will start, including five from the UCI ProTour, which comprises the world’s 20 leading teams.

Among those who could line up in Peebles are Carlos Sastre, the winner of last year’s Tour de France, whose Cervelo team is among those confirmed, and Mark Cavendish, the winner of the Milan-San Remo classic in March. Though teams such as Columbia, Milram, Rabobank and Saxo Bank have confirmed, they are not likely to name their line-ups until after the Tour de France in July.

[Source: Richard Moore, Scotsman]

And you know where’s the best place to stay if you want to catch all the cycling action…here of course!