Tour of Britain: Stage one preview!

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The Tour of Britain 2022 will be breaking new ground with the furthest north Grand Départ to date. Aberdeenshire will play host to the Tour of Britain once more, but stage one promises to serve up a whole new set of challenges as the riders bend around the glens in a tricky first day.

The final stage of the 2021 Tour of Britain saw eventual winner, Team Jumbo-Visma’s Wout van Aert take the win in Aberdeen. This time around though, the race takes on a completely different route, starting in Aberdeen city centre and heading west to the finish line at Glenshee Ski Centre.

Wout van Aert (centre) celebrates his Tour of Britain win in Aberdeen with Ethan Hayter (left) and Julian Alaphilippe (right) / Image: SWPix

What is the route?

Stage one returns to Aberdeen during a weekend absolutely jam-packed with cycling. The city centre will be playing host to the Aberdeen Cycling Festival, which includes the Scottish Criterium Festival at the same time as the riders set off on Sunday 4th September. From there, the riders head over the River Don and westwards towards Inverurie and the first sprint stage.

Next, the peloton trek up to Bennachie for two mountain stages (category 3), before tackling the strenuous Suie Hill (category 2). Following the descent, the riders hit the second sprint through the village of Alford. From there, the race then takes in the scenery of Cairngorms National Park, which includes a final sprint stage through Ballater. A quick fly by the Queen’s summer residence of Balmoral, then it’s time for the final stretch on The Old Military Road to Glenshee Ski Centre and the first ever stage one summit finish.

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