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Jul
World’s best cyclists to race through Ripon, Boroughbridge and Pateley Bridge
The world's best male cyclists will race through Ripon, Boroughbridge and Pateley Bridge in September.
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority agreed to pay British Cycling £200,000 to host a stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men this year and in 2027.
The event is one of the world’s leading cycling competitions, attracting elite international teams and broadcast to more than 100 countries.
It is expected to give the Harrogate district its biggest tourism boost from cycling since the 2014 Tour de France and the 2019 UCI Road World Championships.
The cyclists will face 910.3 kilometres (565 miles) of racing across stages which start in Lincolnshire, before moving up the coast to East Yorkshire, then into North Yorkshire, before heading to the Scottish borders for its conclusion.
The North Yorkshire stage includes four days of racing, starting in Lincoln, followed by Boston to Skegness, Hull to Beverley and Helmsley to Leyburn.
The final day, on Saturday, September 5 — described by organisers as the hardest — will cover 170.5 km with 2,459m of ascent for the hardest stage of the 2026 Tour.
Starting in Helmsley, the race will head through Easingwold, Boroughbridge, and Ripon before entering the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Riders will then take on the notorious Greenhow bank climb out of Pateley Bridge before the peloton heads to Grassington, and towards Leyburn.
Jonathan Day, director of events for British Cycling Ventures, said:
It is always exciting to reveal the stage routes for the Lloyds Tour of Britain, it’s the news fans have been waiting for, so they can plan the best positions to watch the world’s best riders in the UK. We have worked closely with all our stakeholders to design a fantastic route that will ignite the race and create a memorable spectacle for all involved.
The tours are one of the largest free to spectate events in Britain, so we are thrilled to be bringing the men’s route from Lincolnshire, through East and North Yorkshire, all the way to Earlston in the Scottish Borders. The route brings unique challenges to the riders, while delivering a backdrop which shows the best of Britain, from the beautiful coastline, across the highways, through our stunning countryside, and up some iconic and challenging categorised climbs.
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