Tour of Britain Betting

The annual cycling event known as the Tour of Britain forms part of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Europe Tour. It is one of a number of cycling competitions, such as the Tour de France, that attract teams from around the world.

The Tour of Britain can trace its origins back to World War II. In 1942, a number of cyclists defied the National Cyclists Union and conducted a mass road race from Llangollen to Wolverhampton. Out of that successful event, a new body was born, the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC).

By 1944, the BLRC had organised its first multi-stage contest, the Southern Grand Prix in Kent. That led to the Victory Cycling Marathon to celebrate the end of the war in 1945, which continued to run on a yearly basis. By 1954, the event had found its first major sponsor: Quaker Oats.

In was in 1958, however, that the marathon gained notoriety throughout Great Britain. That’s when the Milk Marketing Board (MMB) approached the BLRC and began backing the event, which they renamed “The Milk Race.” For 35 years, the relationship continued, for professionals riders only until 1960, and then for amateurs only through 1984. From 1985 to 1993, both amateurs and pros could participate.

Meanwhile, Kellogg’s had begun sponsoring a so-called “Tour of Britain” competition in 1987, followed by Prudential plc’s PruTour in 1998-99. Both events were suspended due to road safety concerns following collisions between cyclists and motorists. No major British road races would be conducted for the next five years.

It was not until 2004 that first edition of the current Tour of Britain was held. Under collaboration with SweetSpot and British Cycling, the 2012 London Olympics organisers took the lead in attracting an international field to participate for five days of road racing in September. The event was won by Columbian Mauricio Ardilla and his team from Belgium known as Chocolade Jacques-Wincor Nixdorf.

Thereafter, the format was expanded to six days in 2005, seven days in 2009 and eight days from 2008 onward. France has had the most success in the Tour of Britain, with Team Agritubel winning in 2007 and 2008, led by individual champions Romain Feillu and Geoffroy Lequatre, respectively.

Each team taking part in the Tour of Britain is comprised of six cyclists, typically a leader, a sprinter, a mountain climber and three “domestique” helpers. All cyclists in the U.K. who wish to participate are required to obtain a full racing licence from British Cycling.

A number of prizes are up for grabs, including the IG Markets Gold Jersey for the rider who leads the race with the lowest aggregate time and the Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey for the rider who accumulates the most points for being the highest placed rider each day over the course of the entire race. Other top awards are the Skoda King of the Mountains Jersey for the best climber in the race and the Yodel Sprints Jersey for the fastest finisher over the course of three sprints built into the route.

Interest in cycling betting has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to the success of the Tour of Britain and the rise of British riders like Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish in world standings. Team Sky have several brilliant British riders in their ranks now, too, and they very well could be the first local team to crack the code and win the next race to be held from the 9th through the 16th of September 2012. To date, no entry from the U.K. has taken top spot on the podium.

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