cycling tour of great britain route

Tour of Britain 2023: Route details, startlist and jerseys guide

The Tour of Britain 2023 begins on Sunday September 3 - here's all you need to know

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After a truncated edition in 2022 due to police having to head off to administer the Queen's funeral, Britain's biggest race - the Tour of Britain - returns for (hopefully) a full run in 2023. 

It's a much more compact edition this year with the race taking place mostly in the middle of the country so if you're anywhere south of Manchester and north of Reading you have precious few excuses for not getting to the roadside to cheer on your favourite rider.

Among the riders set to light up the race are previous winner Wout van Aert and 2022 second place finisher Tom Pidcock , who'll hope to go one better in 2023.

Tour of Britain overview

Tour of britain 2023 route.

Stage 1,   Sunday 3 September

Route: Greater Manchester to Altrincham 

Today's route is near identical to the final stage of the 2019 tour, starting in Altrincham and travelling to Manchester in an anti-clockwise direction taking in the surrounding area’s undulating terrain, including the category two climb of Grains Bar (2.4km at 5.8%) and category one Ramsbottom Rake (1.3km at 8.8%). Those climbs might not sound like much, but together with a number of unclassified rises were enough to significantly reduce the peloton to just a few dozen riders after Ineos Grenadiers applied the pressure. 

The race did eventually culminate in a reduced bunch sprint won by Mathieu van der Poel, but not before we were entertained by a relentless flurry of attacks as teams struggled for control.

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Expect a similar type of rider to triumph today.

Stage 2, Monday 4 September

Route: Wrexham to Wrexham

At just 109.9km, this is a remarkably short stage by any standards, and as a result could witness some atypical racing. Shorter stages tend to produce more intense racing, with riders able to attack earlier on in the knowledge that they won't have to sustain their efforts for as long.

So although the route doesn’t offer many springboards to launch attacks, travelling westwards across the border and into Cheshire rather than eastwards towards the hills of the Clwydian Range to the west, expect riders to try their luck regardless.

Most important of all will be the Eyton Hill, the category three climb summited with just 18.5km left to ride. It’s close enough to the finish for attackers to fully commit themselves, but will the shallow gradients (averaging only around two and three percent) be enough to establish meaningful gaps?

Stage 3, Tuesday 5 September

Route: Goole to Beverley

Setting off from the small market town of Goole, the riders will head north-eastwards to Bridlington, from where they will travel southwards along the coast and then inland again for a finish in Beverley. For the residents of Beverley, this will be a chance to witness a stage finish after the minster town had previously hosted the beginning of Tour de Yorkshire stages in 2016 and 2018, the former won by Harry Tanfield from a successful break, the latter by Dylan Groenewegen in a sprint.

Much like the course of the town’s famous racecourse, the parcours today before arriving at Beverly is mostly flat, but there are a few potential obstacles to overcome if this is to be a sprint finish. The category three hills up Towthorpe Lane and Langtoft must both be climbed during the first of the stage, and after that comes a stretch of about 35km near the coastline which could, if the wind blows strong and in the right direction, cause echelons. But this should in theory be the most nailed-on stage for the sprinters so far.

Stage 4, Wednesday 6 September

Route: Sherwood Forest to Newark-on-Trent

After setting off from Edwinstone in Sherwood Forest, famous for its association with Robin Hood, the riders face the first to the day’s two category three climbs, Kilton Hill, just 15km into the stage. Then, after briefly crossing into Yorkshire and riding through Haworth, where a monument to Tom Simpsons can be found, they will travel southwards again to tackle the next climb, Red Hill Lane.

There’s a whole 85km between the top of Red Hill Lane and the finish, so plenty of time for the race to settle down for a bunch sprint.

Stage 5, Thursday 7 September

Route: Felixstowe to Felixstowe

Perhaps to make up for the lack of any difficult terrain, the organisers have rendered stage five less straightforward than it would otherwise have been by extending it to a total of 192.4km. That makes it by far the longest stage of the race, and could prevent this from being the predictable sprint stage it looks on paper.

Small undulations in the road that would otherwise have been passed over without a second though will sting the legs of the weaker riders, and being so close to the coast a crosswind could encourage a strong team to the front on any exposed roads.

Stage 6, Friday 8 September

Route: Southend-on-Sea to Harlow

Today’s stage is likely to be the last chance for the sprinters to compete for a stage win. And it should be about as nailed-on for them as any stage in the year’s race — there is only one official climb to be overcome, and it’s only a mild category three one tackled with 46km left between its summit and the finish for the peloton to bring back any optimistic attackers who try to use its shallow gradients to get away.

Stage 7, Saturday 9 September

Route: Tewkesbury to Gloucester

The organisers have made the most of the lumpy terrain of the Cotswolds to devise a route that should be selective, and one of the most important days in the GC race.

There is one climb up the category two Winchcombe Hill just 20km after the roll-out in Tewksbury, but the real action will be reserved for the final 30km. First the category two Crawley Hill, which features a nasty ramp at over 20%, then an uncategorized yet deceptively hard 3km rise to the village of Edge, which includes a similarly sharp ramp of 15%.

Stage 8, Sunday 10 September

Route: Margam Country Park to Caerphilly

The climbs to be taken on might not be especially different than those that have preceded them earlier in the week, but there is still a notable upgrade in terms of severity.

That’s clear when the race heads up to the outskirts of Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly Brecon Beacons) national park to take on the first two climbs of the day, Rhigos and Bryn Du, which have both been designated the maximum difficulty racing of category one.

And after a 35km south-easterly trek from the top of the latter comes a double-ascent of the day’s most important climb, and the one on which the entire fate of the Tour of Britain could be decided — Caerphilly Mountain.

In truth it’s more of a hill than a mountain, lasting just 1.3km, but that’s still enough road for its viscous average gradient of 10% to really sting and force a selection.

Tour of Britain startlist

Movistar Team 

DS Max Sciandri 

1 Gonzalo Serrano ESP

2 Will Barta USA

3 Imanol Erviti ESP

4 Max Kanter GER

5 Gregor Mühlberger AUT

6 Óscar Rodríguez ESP

INEOS Grenadiers 

DS Roger Hammond / Ian Stannard 

11 Tom Pidcock GBR

12 Carlos Rodriguez ESP

13 Luke Rowe GBR

14 Connor Swift GBR

15 Josh Tarling* GBR

16 Ben Turner GBR

Bingoal WB 

DS Alessandro Spezialetti 

21 Floris de Tier BEL

22 Johan Meens BEL

23 Davide Persico* ITA

24 Dimitri Peyskens BEL

25 Lennert Teugels BEL

26 Kenneth van Rooy BEL

Great Britain  

DS John Herety / Matt Brammeier 

31 Ethan Vernon GBR

32 Jack Brough* GBR

33 Josh Giddings* GBR

34 Noah Hobbs* GBR

35 Oliver Wood GBR

36 Stephen Williams GBR

BORA hansgrohe 

DS Jens Zemke / Heinrich Haussler 

41 Sam Bennett IRL

42 Patrick Gamper AUT

43 Nils Politt GER

44 Max Schachmann GER

45 Ide Schelling NED

46 Danny Van Poppel NED

Bolton Equities Black Spoke Cycling  

DS Franky Van Haesebroucke / Greg Henderson 

51 Jacob Scott GBR

52 Matt Bostock GBR

53 James Fouche NZL

54 James Oram NZL

55 Mark Stewart GBR

56 Rory Townsend IRL

Global 6 Cycling 

DS James Mitri / Luis Gerrado 

61 Nicolas Sessler BRA

62 Giacomo Ballabio ITA

63 Tomoya Koyama JPN

64 Ivan Moreno ESP

65 Callum Ormiston RSA

66 Tom Wirtgen LUX

Jumbo Visma 

DS Arthur van Dongen / Maarten Wynants 

71 Wout van Aert BEL

72 Edoardo Affini ITA

73 Steven Kruijswijk NED

74 Olav Kooij* NED

75 Jos van Emden NED

76 Nathan van Hooydonck BEL

Equipo Kern Pharma 

DS Pablo Urtasun 

81 Roger Adrià ESP

82 Igor Arrieta* ESP

83 Iñigo Elosegui ESP

84 José Félix Parra ESP

85 Ibon Ruiz ESP

86 Danny van der Tuuk NED

Saint Piran 

DS Steve Lampier / Julian Winn 

91 Alexander Richardson GBR

92 Harry Birchill* GBR

93 Finn Crockett GBR

94 Zeb Kyffin GBR

95 Jack Rootkin-Gray* GBR

96 Bradley Symonds GBR

Team dsm - firmenich 

DS Matt Winston 

101 Tobias Lund Arnesen DEN

102 Patrick Eddy* AUS

103 Enzo Leijnse* NED

104 Niklas Märkl GER

105 Tim Naberman NED

106 Casper van Uden* NED

Q36.5 Pro Cycling 

DS Aart Vierhouten / Rik Reinerink 

111 Mark Donovan GBR

112 Damian Howson AUS

113 Kamil Malecki POL

114 Nicolò Parisini ITA

115 Joey Rosskopf USA

116 Szymon Sajnok POL

TDT - Unibet 

DS Rob Harmeling / Julia Soek 

121 Harry Tanfield GBR

122 Joren Bloem NED

123 Davide Bomboi BEL

124 Jordy Bouts BEL

125 Abram Stockman BEL

126 Hartthijs de Vries NED

Team Flanders - Baloise 

DS Hans De Clerq / Andy Missotten 

131 Kamiel Bonneu BEL

132 Sander De Pestel BEL

133 Milan Fretin* BEL

134 Elias Maris BEL

135 Ward Vanhoof BEL

136 Aaron Verwilst BEL

Trinity Racing 

DS Peter Kennaugh / Jon Mould 

141 Luke Lamperti* USA

142 Robert Donaldson* GBR

143 Luksas Nerukar* GBR

144 Finlay Pickering* GBR

145 Ollie Reese* GBR

146 Max Walker* GBR

Uno-X Pro Cycling 

DS Gino van Oudenhove / Arne Gunnar Ensrud 

151 Alexander Kristoff NOR

152 Frederik Dversnes NOR

153 Tord Gudmestad* NOR

154 Tobias Halland Johannssen NOR

155 Ramus Tiller NOR

156 Martin Urianstad NOR

* Denotes eligibility for the young rider jersey as under-23 

TOUR of Britain PAST WINNERS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS

2012: Nathan Haas (Aus)

2013: Bradley Wiggins (GBr)

2014: Dylan van Baarle (Ned)

2015: Edvald Boasson Hgen (Nor)

2016: Steve cummings (GBr)

2017: Lars Boom (Ned)

2018: Julian Alaphilippe (Fra)

2019: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned)

2020: No race

2021: Wout van Aert (Bel)

2022: Gonzalo Serrano (Esp)

Tour of Britain jersey guide

Blue: GC leader jersey

The best overall rider in the race calculated by the cumulative time they take on each stage.

Green: cottages.com sprints jersey

The first 10 riders each day get points as follows: 25, 18, 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Intermediate sprint points are awarded to the first five riders on a 10, 7, 5, 3 ,1 basis.

Black: Pinarello KOM jersey

First-category climbs give the first 10 riders points in descending order from 10. Second-cat climbs work the same for the first six riders, the first getting six points, while third-cat climbs see the first rider get four points.

White: young rider's jersey

Awarded to the best placed GC rider who is also under-23.

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Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance journalist for Cycling Weekly , who regularly contributes to our World Tour racing coverage with race reports, news stories, interviews and features. Outside of cycling, he also enjoys writing about film and TV - but you won't find much of that content embedded into his CW articles. 

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2022 Tour of Britain route: full details and analysis

A stage-by-stage breakdown with insight from route director Andy Hawes

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

John Whitney

The bookends of the 2022 Tour of Britain are almost a reversal of last year, with a start in Aberdeen and a finish in southern England, this time via a first visit to the Isle of Wight.

It’s an unpredictable route, with few stages you could guarantee will be won by any one type of rider.

Route director Andy Hawes says the 2022 Tour of Britain teams will have to keep a close eye on the road book and use all the tools at their disposal to solve the questions each stage will pose.

Highlights include an opening-stage summit finish at the Glenshee Ski Centre, deep in the wonderful Cairngorms, and a roving route around the Isle of Wight that covers every corner of the island.

Tour of Britain – stage guide

• Stage 1: Aberdeen – Glenshee Ski Centre
• Stage 2: Hawick – Duns
• Stage 3: Durham – Sunderland
• Stage 4: Redcar – Helmsley
• Stage 5: West Bridgford – Mansfield
• Stage 6: Tewkesbury – Gloucester
• Stage 7: West Bay – Ferndown
• Stage 8: Ryde – The Needles

Aberdeen – Glenshee Ski Centre

• When: Sunday 4 September
• Distance: 180.8km
• Total elevation: 2,512m
• Skoda KOMs: Bennachie Forest (Cat 3); My Lord’s Throat (Cat 3); Suie Road (Cat 2); Glenshee Ski Centre (Cat 1)
• Eisberg Sprints: Inverurie; Alford; Ballater

The 2022 Tour of Britain opens in Aberdeen, in exactly the same spot as Wout van Aert clinched last year’s victory in a gripping finale with home favourite Ethan Hayter.

The riders will start in Union Street, though racing will be neutralised until they cross last year’s finish line.

It’s the modern Tour of Britain’s second visit to Aberdeenshire and, after the start, the roads will be different from last year. “It’s always nice to not tread the same path,” says route director Andy Hawes.

The route heads west, towards the Cairngorms National Park, via popular local climbs My Lord’s Throat and Suie Road. It’s up and down all day, but trending up as the peloton makes its way into the Cairngorms.

The stage finishes at the Glenshee ski station at 650m, a rare summit finish on the first day of a week-long stage race. It’s only the final 3km where it begins to bite and Hawes reckons it’s a “big ring climb”.

“In the past I’d have been worried that a summit finish on stage 1 would have a detrimental effect on the rest of the race, and the last thing we want is someone gaining four minutes and the GC be done.”

He can’t see it playing out like that, and even if there was a big gap on the line, there are many obstacles for the leader to jump before the Isle of Wight finish. “It’s a gorgeous climb,” adds Hawes.

“I’m in two minds about what I want the weather to be. I’ve seen it in glorious sunshine, and on darker days like you would expect, and they’re both amazing. It’s so atmospheric, whatever the weather.”

Hawick – Duns

• When: Monday 5 September
• Distance: 174.8km
• Total elevation: 2,547m
• Skoda KOMs: Wanside Rig (Cat 3); Mainslaughter Law (Cat 3); Hardens Hill (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Morebattle; Coldstream; Reston

As with last year’s race, this is another hilly week, packed to the gills with climbing.

The previous day’s 2,500 metres of elevation are followed by the same again today and only stage five drops under 2,000m.

We’re again in Scottish Borders territory, but despite the frequency of visits here, Hawes says they’ve found roads, towns and villages they’ve not been to before.

Hawick also hosted the start of stage 7 in 2021, a lumpy stage to Edinburgh won by Yves Lampaert.

The race doesn’t get as far north on this stage, heading out to the east coast town of Eyemouth, before turning around for the Lammermuir Hills, a natural separation between the Borders and East Lothian.

While it will have been hilly up to this point, all three of this day's King of the Mountains sections fall within the final 20km, three 3rd category climbs – Wanside Rig, Mainslaughter Law and Hardens Hill – and taking the peloton close to 450m elevation.

Rather than another summit finish, the peloton must negotiate a fast and open descent, one that, for the best descenders, will tempt them into stern attacks as they head towards the final summit.

“The last 5km is off the side of a mountain down into the finish in Duns,” says Hawes.

“Anybody who gets away on that final KOM could easily come across the line on their own. I can’t see it finishing in a bunch sprint.”

Durham – Sunderland

• When: Tuesday 6 September
• Distance: 163.3km
• Total elevation: 2,518m
• Skoda KOMs: Chapel Fell (Cat 1); Billy Lane (Cat 2); High Moorsley (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Stanhope; Bishop Auckland; Ferryhill

County Durham’s Chapel Fell makes an appearance on day three.

At 627m high, it would be the ceiling of many Tours of Britain, but for the earlier visit to the Cairngorms.

The climb begins in the village of St John’s Chapel, averaging 8.3 per cent over almost 4km.

“The riders who are hanging on in there are going to hate it, as you can see the top from a long way off, it’s very open,” says Hawes.

From there, the stage is up and down, with two more KOMs at 98 and 148km, though nothing on the scale of Chapel Fell.

Around the mid-point, the race speeds through Barnard Castle, which will serve as a step in restoring its image as a County Durham market town, rather than the scene for the scandal involving Dominic Cummings, the former advisor of the soon-to-be-former PM.

The day ends in Sunderland, hosting the race for the first time, with a finish in Keel Square. “The city has been very supportive,” says Hawes.

“They’ve hosted a couple of rounds of the Tour Series. Once places host that, everyone gets excited and wonders what comes next. Often, that’s the Tour of Britain, or the Women’s Tour, which they’re in negotiations to host.

Here, we have an opportunity for a bunch sprint, with the hard part earlier in the stage. The break could go and hoover up a lot of the points in the KOM and sprint competitions.”

Redcar – Duncombe Park, Helmsley

• When: Wednesday 7 September
• Distance: 149.5km
• Total elevation: 2,669m
• Skoda KOMs: Robin Hood’s Bay (Cat 1); Egton Bank (Cat 2); Carlton Bank (Cat 1)
• Eisberg Sprints: Whitby; Stokesley; Newgate Bank

Just 40 miles separate the previous night’s finish and the start in Redcar, for what is the toughest stage on paper – the shortest, but with the most climbing (2,669m).

The route heads south down the coast to Whitby, before turning inland to traverse the North York Moors National Park. It’s set to be a great-looking stage, too.

“I’ve driven the length and breadth of this country in this job over the years,” Hawes says, “and I don’t get too many ‘wow’ moments anymore, where you drive round a corner and the view opens up in a grand way. This year, I had it a couple of times on stage four. It’s stunning. If they’re not going up, they’re going down, the only flat part is the neutralised section.”

The toughest climb, says Hawes, is the final KOM, the Category 1 Carlton Bank, around 26km from the finish. The Newgate Bank climb gets a sprint classification, with another downhill finish into Helmsley, similar to the one into Duns on stage two.

Day four marks the long-awaited return to Yorkshire. Since the ASO-backed Tour de Yorkshire launched in 2015, the Tour of Britain has been locked out of the county, but when the race folded, its doors opened once more.

“Redcar was due to be a finish in the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire and they were gutted when it didn’t happen,” says Hawes.

“Then there was the race’s sad demise after that, and we approached them to see if they wanted to host a start and they said absolutely.”

West Bridgford – Mansfield

• When: Thursday 8 September
• Distance: 187km
• Total elevation: 1,691m
• Skoda KOMs: Keyworth (Cat 3); Sparken Hill (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Edingley; Retford; Clumber Park

With four chunky stages through mountain ranges of northern Scotland and England, it seems fair to the riders that they get a stage offering something close to a respite.

It’s hardly flat, though – it almost never is in the Tour of Britain – but with 1,691 metres elevation over the longest stage, the peloton can take stock at the start of the second half of the race and plot to make their move – or stay one step ahead.

There was a stage between these two towns in the 2018 race, won in swaggering fashion by Team Sky’s Brit Ian Stannard, a moment of glory at the back end of a career largely in service of others.

The Essex rider retired in 2020, but will be back at the race as a directeur sportif with British development outfit Trinity Racing.

This time, as is his wont, Hawes has plotted an entirely new route. “It’s one of the easier stages, and they’re needed between the harder days.

"We go through village after village, and towns like Retford and Worksop later in the stage, before the super-fast finish in Mansfield.

“This one on paper has bunch sprint written all over it. Every time we come to Nottinghamshire, it’s tough to find genuine KOMs. We’ve got two, rather than three. One early on and one later.

“It’s a typical Nottinghamshire stage. Towns, villages, forests, open country. It’s good, it gives the peloton a chance to decompress a little after four really tough stages. Usually, I would normally like three hard stages then an easier one, but it’s a day later because of the way we’ve moved down the country. The finish is super-wide, if slightly uphill.”

Tewkesbury – Gloucester

• When: Friday 9 September
• Distance: 165.1km
• Total elevation: 2,158m
• Skoda KOMs: Round Hill (Cat 2); Withington Hill (Cat 3); Crowley Hill (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Cirencester; Rangeworthy; Dursley

Gloucestershire is a frequent host of the Tour of Britain, but stage 6 marks the first time it has hosted a full stage entirely within its borders.

The start and finish are separated by a little over 10 miles, so fans can easily visit both should they want to.

There are KOM points up for grabs early in the stage, with Round Hill and Withington Hill falling within the first 50 kilometres.

“Depending on the battle for the KOM jersey, I don’t think the peloton will want a break going too early on in this one,” says Hawes.

The race heads south through the Cotswolds, skirting round Cheltenham clockwise, heading through Cirencester, Tetbury and getting as far south as Chipping Sodbury and Yate, just north of Bristol.

They then turn the ship around and head north towards Gloucester. There are climbs throughout this stage, but given we’re spending so much time in the Cotswolds on day six, the peloton gets a lucky break because it could be far hillier. Two sprints fall within the final 50km.

There remains a sting in the tail, though, with an uncategorised climb just 10km from the finish.

“This year more than any it’s important for teams to study the road book and Veloviewer [road mapping software that many teams use before and during stages in their team cars] and plan what they’re going to do,” says Hawes.

“I think that every stage has something in the dying kilometres that, if they’re not paying close attention, then it could catch them out. I don’t think any one stage this week is going to be written down as being for one type of stage or another, or for one type of rider or another.”

West Bay – Ferndown

• When: Saturday 10 September
• Distance: 175.9km
• Total elevation: 2,377m
• Skoda KOMs: Daggers Gate (Cat 3); Whiteways Hill (Cat 2); Okeford Hill (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Dorchester; Wareham; Knowlton

Stage 7 should prove a treat for riders and spectators alike. Remarkably, it’s the first time that the modern Tour of Britain (since 2004) has visited Dorset, and Hawes has served up a barnstormer of a route that showcases the county’s wonderful scenery and stiff climbs.

From West Bay, known for its striking golden cliffs, the route runs parallel to the coast down to Weymouth, turning inland through Dorchester and to Hawes’ favourite part of the stage into West Lulworth, close to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and into the Isle of Purbeck peninsula and the majestic Corfe Castle.

It’s a tour of some of the coast’s highlights as much as it is a bike race and it’ll be worth tuning in for the helicopter shots of the scenery, as well as the racing.

The route heads inland towards Wareham, Milton Abbas and Wimborne Minster before looping round Ferndown’s town centre for the finish.

“If I was a betting man I’d predict a bunch sprint, the road lends itself to it,” says Hawes. Whatever happens on the road, this is Dorset at its most iconic.

Ryde – The Needles

• When: Sunday 11 September
• Distance: 148.7km
• Total elevation: 2,131m
• Skoda KOMs: Brading Down (Cat 1); Cowleaze Hill (Cat 2); Zig Zag Road/Ventnor (Cat 1); Tennyson Down (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Sandown; Yarmouth; Cowes

For the first time, the Tour of Britain arrives on the Isle of Wight . Such are the logistics of getting to the island that the race could only ever start or finish there and, with sporting terrain and wonderful scenery, it’ll be a fitting finale for any bike race.

The island’s size necessitates a route that seems to cover just about every strip of tarmac on the island.

“Yes, we’re pretty much covering the Isle of Wight, that’s definitely ticked off,” says Hawes.

“It’s going to give riders and fans a full flavour of what the island is about.”

Because of how the route traverses the island, fans will be able to catch the race in multiple locations across the day.

“The route crosses over itself but you never get the feeling that you’re close to where you’ve been before. It’s different around every corner," adds Hawes.

“It’s up and down all day. The helicopter camera is going to be busy, there’ll be some classic shots to be had. It’s a fitting final stage. The military road [which runs down the island’s south west] is four metres from the edge of the cliff in places, and it might not be there for much longer with all the erosion.”

The race ends with a 2km climb up to Tennyson Down, the final 400m averaging 9.6 per cent – the toughest finish to a Tour of Britain, organisers reckon.

“I said before last year’s race, don’t be surprised if the jersey changes hands on the final stage, and there it was, with Ethan Hayter losing it on the line to Wout van Aert. Am I going to be as bold this year?

"I don’t know, but I think there will be many wearers of the jersey. Positioning on this final climb will be key if there’s all to play for.”

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Tour of Britain 2021: Race Preview

Eight-day race returns after COVID-19 cancellation with formidable field including hard to beat Alaphilippe and Van Aert

After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 the Tour of Britain returns with eight days of racing that visit some of the best cycling terrain that England, Wales and Scotland have to offer.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and world champion Julian Alaphillipe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) headline the race for obvious reasons but there is genuine depth to this year’s field. Several WorldTour teams are absent from the official startlist but important ProTeam as well as the British domestic teams head to the race with hopes of competing against some of the biggest names in the sport.

The race runs from September 5 to September 12 and incorporates at least three days for the sprinters, a decisive team time trial on stage 3 and several brutally demanding stages that will shape and decide the final overall standings in Aberdeen. 

While many riders will inevitably be using the Tour of Britain to fine-tune their form for the World Championships in Flanders, the course and the strong line-up has the potential to create an excellent short stage race.

The contenders

Despite having one eye on the World Championships later in September the dynamic duo of Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) will both start as prime contenders for the overall title. 

Both riders head into the race with the needed skillsets to triumph on the demanding course, while their squads should more than hold their own in the team time trial. 

Alaphilippe – the 2018 winner – and Van Aert – currently the most complete rider in the WorldTour – will face stern opposition with Ineos Grenadiers sending a talented team comprising of Rohan Dennis, Michal Kwiatkowski, Richie Porte and the highly-rated youngsters Ethan Hayter and Carlos Rodriguez.

Movistar sends a clutch of high calibre riders in Marc Soler and Matteo Jorgenson, while Israel Start-Up Nation arrives with Dan Martin, Michael Woods and Alex Dowsett to lead the line.

Trinity Racing includes several promising riders in their roster with Thomas Gloag, WorldTour bound Ben Healy, and Luke Lamperti among their contingent. Ribble brings a revitalised James Shaw, as well as true depth, while Rally Cycling, Team DSM, Alpecin-Fenix, and the Great Britain Nation team all send squads packed with depth and riders to watch.

The sprinters

Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep) may not have won since his incredible Tour de France but he heads to the Tour of Britain as the rider to beat in the sprints. 

The British rider has won more Tour of Britain stages than any other rider in the race’s history with ten victories in total, and although he lacks his Tour de France leadout man Michael Mørkøv, there’s more than enough power in the Deceuninck-QuickStep team to set him up. 

Veteran Andre Greipel (Israel Start–Up Nation) continues his final season with a return to the race in which he has taken seven stage wins over the years, while Greg Van Avermaet’s (AG2R Citroën) overall versatility will ensure that he could potentially compete for every stage. 

Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dan McLay (Team Arkea-Samsic) lead the line for the rest of the British riders while Max Kanter (Team DSM) and Colin Joyce (Rally Cycling) – who recently won a stage in the Tour of Denmark – could also be in contention.

The 2021 Tour of Britain follows a long south to north route and commences with a 180km stage from Penzance to Bodmin with the peloton taking in some of the most picturesque of Cornwall’s countryside. 

The scenery will be of little consideration to the riders, especially with an uphill start and two third category climbs positioned in the first hour of racing. There are two intermediate sprints and a further third category climb to come but this could be a decisive day for the overall, and if the weather worsens the stage could provide some genuine definition within the overall standings. 

The finale is especially tough with a 500-metre long climb with pitches at 13 per cent set to ensure that the pure sprinters are distanced. If the right break goes early this stage could decide the race.

Stage 2 of the race starts in the village of Sherford and takes the race 183.9km north to Exeter. With three tough second category climbs on the menu, it’s a day for a break to establish a sizeable lead – especially with KOM points up for grabs – but the sprinters' teams will aim to control proceedings with the last categorised climb peaking out at 150km into the stage. There are still two more decent inclines before the finish but a reduced bunch should contest the win.

After taking in Cornwall and Devon during the first two stages the race heads into Wouth Wales with the crucial team time trial between Llandeilo and the National Botanic Garden of Wales. 

At 18.2km the course will favour the most dialled-in teams and several of the domestic teams will target this particular day with greater emphasis and precision. 

The stage itself starts out flat and keeps that format before a gentle rise after roughly 12km. After a short descent the road kicks up for a second time with a longer and most sustained effort before a final descent and a flat run-in.

Stage 4 is the Queen stage and another true GC day that’s littered with climbing. 

The race starts in Aberaeron and heads directly north for a finish in Great Orme, Llandudno. The 210km stage heads through the Snowdonia National Park with the first category climb of Eidda’s Well. That ascent will split the race but there should be a general re-grouping, though the penultimate climb and then the last ascent to the line in Orme will split the race to pieces. The final climb is 1.9km in length and averages 9.8 per cent so the time gaps could be significant.

Stage 5 sees the race spin in the direction of the sprinters but in true Tour of Britain fashion, the fastmen will have to work for their rewards with the organisers sticking three categorised climbs into the middle portion of the 152.2km stage between Alderley Park and Warrington. The run-in is flat and given that the previous four days were built towards the break and GC, this could possible be the first bunch sprint of the entire race.

After the sprinter’s chance to shine on stage 5 the race heads back into the hills with the Pennines playing host to a demanding 198km stage between Carlisle and Gateshead. 

There’s rarely a meter of flat but the three first category ascents in the middle of the stage will stretch an already weary peloton before the race ventures further east and towards an iconic finish by the Angel of the North. It’s another uphill finish with stage 6 representing the last finish on English soil before the race dips into Scotland for the remaining stages.

Harwick makes its Tour of Britain debut on stage 7 with the race heading to Edinburgh for its first stage finish. There are three sprints and three classified climbs but the sprinters are likely to decide the outcome of the stage with a flat run-in.

The final stage from Stonehaven to Aberdeen takes the race as far north as it has ever been with another tough and undulating day in the saddle as the race ticks off the final 173km of 2021 edition. 

Depending on the lie of the land in the overall standings heading into the stage this could see a final flourish from the GC riders but another sprint is the most likely outcome before the curtain comes down on the Tour of Britain for another year.

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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.

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Tour of Britain Route, Stages and Results 2023

Thu 2 May 2024

2024 newspaper of the year

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Tour of Britain 2023 route map today: Stage 3 schedule, where to watch, road closures and TV coverage

The howdens stage, which runs from goole to beverley over 154.7km, is one for the sprinters.

The  2023 Tour of Britain enters its third stage today, and will see East Riding of Yorkshire host a full stage of the tour for the first time.

This stage will take place almost 15 years to the day since the event last passed through the county, during a stage that travelled from Hull to Dalby Forest.

Dutch rider Olav Kooij became the first rider in four years to win back-to-back stages of the tour on Monday as he claimed victory in stage 2 in Wrexham . His Belgian Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout van Aert finished third behind BORA–hansgrohe’s Danny van Poppel.

It means Kooij holds the overall lead heading into stage 3 and Jumbo-Visma remain in firm control of the event.

“We went again for another win today – we took control and tried to catch the break which took a huge effort by two of our guys. We went into the last kilometre in a really good position again and were able to take the second win,” Kooij said.

What is the Tour of Britain route today?

The Howdens Stage, which runs from Goole to Beverley over 154.7km, is one for the sprinters.

Following a start in the port town of Goole, the peloton will head north to Howden, Market Weighton, and Driffield. Riders will then get a taste of British seaside life when they race through Bridlington, before they head inland towards the finish line upon reaching Hornsea.

The expected sprint finish will take place at Beverley Westwood, a popular green space for families that sits next to the town’s racecourse.

Here is the full route with expected timings:

• Goole, Market Square – 11.30am
• Howden – 11.48am
• Holme-on-Spalding Moor – 12.23pm
• Market Weighton – 12.36pm
• Towthorpe Lane – 12.40pm
• Middleton-on-the-Wolds – 12.52pm
• Driffield – 1.14pm
• Langtoft – 1.32pm
• Rudston – 1.44pm
• Bridlington – 1.59pm
• Skipsea – 2.20pm
• Hornsea – 2.32pm
• Tickton – 3.12pm
• Beverley, York Road – 3.26pm

You can see the full in-depth timetable, including road closures, here .

Tour of Britain stage schedule Grand Depart  | Sunday 3 September | Greater Manchester: Altrincham > Manchester Stage 2  | Monday 4 September | Wrexham > Wrexham Stage 3  | Tuesday 5 September | Goole > Beverley Stage 4 | Wednesday 6 September | Sherwood Forest > Newark-on-Trent Stage 5  | Thursday 7 September | Felixstowe > Felixstowe Stage 6  | Friday 8 September | Southend-on-Sea > Harlow Stage 7  | Saturday 9 September | Tewkesbury > Gloucester Stage 8  | Sunday 10 September | Margam Country Park > Caerphilly

How can I watch the Tour of Britain?

ITV4 is broadcasting all eight stages of the 2023 Tour of Britain in their entirety. A one-hour highlights show will also be shown each evening.

ITV4 is available on Freeview (channel 25), Freesat (channel 117), Sky (channel 120), Virgin Media (channel 118) and the ITV X (online) in the UK.

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Tour of Britain 2023 Route stage 2: Wrexham- Wrexham

It’s mosty flat to gently rolling roads on the route east of Wrexham. In fact, the only KOM-worthy climb is Eyton Hill, which is hardly a climb at all with its 1.4 kilometres at 2.9%. The summit appears 18.5 kilometres before the finish on Wrexham’s Chester Street.

Long story short: a bunch sprint is next to certain at the end of stage 2.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 2 .

Another interesting read: results 2nd stage 2023 Tour of Britain.

Tour of Britain 2023 – stage 2: route, profile, more

Click on the images to zoom

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Tour of Britain 2024 Preview

Tour of Britain is a multi-day race on the roads of Great Britain, and has a category UCI 2.1. The race was organized in 1945, since then its status has been constantly changing. In 2004 the race received its current category and since then it has been held regularly.

In 2024, the event will take place between September 1 to 8. Within these eight days, the racers will pass through a number of towns and cities with numerous chances for the fans to spectate and pitch up. The 16th edition of the tour is expected to be much more difficult. The competitors will start in Glasgow and finish in London as before. This year, the riders will have to pass as many as 1308.5 km. Although there are more hill stages, some of the participants predict that the route will not be much easier than last year. Only at the finishing two stages of the race, the riders will enjoy flat runs on the contrast to other hilly stages.

Cycling events in Europe have largely been more popular in France, Spain, and Italy thanks to the presence of races like the Tour de France. They form part of the Grand Tour which requires riders to go through some extremely tough stages before getting the ultimate glory. Professional cycling events in Britain have not attained the same popularity, but several changes to the Tour of Britain are starting to have its effect. After all the Tour of Britain is the most popular professional cycling race in the United Kingdom.

The most recent edition of the Tour of Britain took place in 2015. This was the 12th edition of the event, which underwent major changes in 2004 to make it competitive on the international front. The first edition of the race took place in 1945 – much later than the Tour de France. There was a brief hiatus after the 1999 edition. Following several restructures, the event resumed in 2004. Even though it started out as a five-stage event, recent editions of the cycling Tour of Britain have been held as an eight-stage event. Now, this number will be increased to nine for the Tour of Britain 2024.

Since coming into the UCI Europe Tour, the Tour of Britain route has become much more complex with large predominance for early stages. Twenty teams took part in the 2015 edition that started on September 6. The entire event comprised of only three hilly stages and one medium mountain stage with the rest being flat stages. The event was dominated by three teams – Team Sky, Movistar Team, and Etixx–Quick-Step. Even though they managed to grab individual stages, Cannondale–Garmin managed to win the overall team classification by finishing 5′ 35″ ahead of Team Sky.

Elia Viviani of Italy came out on top when stage victories were taken into account. He managed to grab three stage wins out of eight. Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway, though, was crowned as the champion as per the general classifications. He ended up walking away with the yellow jersey followed by Wout Poels and Owain Doull. As a British event, the race received a boost with three Brits managing to win the points, general, and sprints classification.

The Tour of Britain 2024 is expected to be much more difficult. The race starts in Glasgow and will end in London as ever. This time around, the stages cover a whopping 1308.5 km. Even though there are more hill stages, several riders are of the opinion that the 2024 route will not be much easier than in the previous edition. Only the final two stages of the event are flat runs with all the rest being hilly stages.

The Tour of Britain dates for the upcoming edition were announced as early as in February. The Tour is also seen as a great opportunity for riders to prepare for the upcoming World Championships in Doha, Qatar, which starts only three weeks after the Tour of Britain ends.

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Tour of Britain Women route revealed, with curtailed 2024 edition set to expand in coming years

Event confirmed to return in 2024 in shortened four-day format from Wales to Greater Manchester

Flo Clifford

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The podium of the last Women's Tour in 2022

British Cycling has revealed the route for this summer’s Tour of Britain Women , the revamped version of the flagship British race the Women’s Tour, which will start in north Wales and finish in Greater Manchester.

Starting in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June, the Women’s WorldTour -level stage race, which fills the same calendar slot as the old Women’s Tour, has been shortened from six to four stages this year due to the last-minute nature of British Cycling’s takeover .

The race did not run in 2023 due to financial difficulties and its former promoter Sweetspot liquidated in January, at which point British Cycling stepped in. They announced their intentions to put together a women’s race for June, admitting it would be a battle against time, but it appears they’ve won that battle with details of the race now coming together.

Read more: Four-day Tour of Britain Women appears on UCI calendar for 2024

The national governing body will also manage the equivalent men’s race, now known as the Tour of Britain Men , which will take place in September, also shortened from eight to six stages.

The Tour of Britain Women route

Returning to where the Women’s Tour left off in 2022, the peloton will take to the start line in Welshpool on 6 June for the longest stage of 2024, heading north to finish in Llandudno.

Stage 2 will remain in Wales, starting and finishing in Wrexham and featuring a challenging selection of climbs in the rolling terrain of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.

The penultimate stage will see the riders cross the border into England for a loop starting and finishing in Warrington, on a flatter day which will favour the sprinters.

The climbs return on the race’s final day, returning to Greater Manchester following the success of the men’s Tour of Britain stage there last summer. The flag will drop at British Cycling’s headquarters at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester before tackling several climbs around the north-west, finishing in Leigh in Wigan.

Speaking at the National Cycling Centre on Monday, race director Rod Ellingworth said: “It’s going to be a challenging course. Stage 1 is going to be the most challenging stage for sure, [followed by] stage 4. I think the GC will come down to the final stage. Weather will play a huge part – if it’s okay weather on stage 1, I think you’ll have a different race come stage 4 – but I think it’s pretty open.

Read more: Rod Ellingworth named as Tour of Britain race director

“Naturally the British roads offer lots of different opportunities – you don’t have the big mountains but there’s certainly some challenging roads, and you don’t need big climbs to make good bike racing either. Where we are in the timescale, I think we’ve got a really good four-day race.”

With all the racing compacted into north Wales and the north-west of England, there will be no long transfers between stages, with sustainability an important consideration for the organisers.

Specific route profiles and more details on the crucial climbs are to be announced in the coming weeks.

British hopeful and former world road race champion Lizzie Deignan , who will be racing as part of a Team GB squad rather than her WorldTour team Lidl-Trek, said: “I’m excited particularly about the harder races around Manchester, the hillier stuff, I think that’ll suit me and I’m excited to be able to race it with the GB team.

“Racing in Britain has always suited me because you have the home crowd, but also the terrain – wherever you are in the country – is relentless. People in the UK are brilliant sports fans and there’s this sense of excitement and thrill at being able to be part of a spectacle like a bike race.”

Designing the race

British Cycling’s chief executive Jon Dutton described this as a ‘reset and re-energise year’ for the race, particularly on the women’s side given the extremely compressed timescale for organising it. Having planned the route in ten weeks, he said: “It’s fair to say none of this has been easy but we believed in this race, these two races.

“I think we’ve got a bit of everything in the four stages, from the climbing to the flat, to sprinting. For the Tour of Britain Men, we’ve announced that we will reduce from eight to six stages, and less might be more – more high quality, compelling racing for those watching from the roadside and on broadcast. We want to stage racing in Wales, England and Scotland and we will satisfy that across the two races this year.”

The races will be funded by a mixture of public funding, broadcast revenue and sponsorships. Dutton said: “We accept that maybe in year one the race has to run at a deficit, but this is about taking a longer-term approach to it. We’re in the process of finalising [broadcast] contracts both domestically and internationally so we’re in a good place.

“We’re excited, we got what we realistically could have expected this year in four and six stages, but again that’s the reset year.

“These two races are the jewel in the crown for domestic, elite international road racing here in Great Britain. If you look at both women and men on the WorldTour, it’s quite astonishing from a GB perspective, and we want to make sure they have the opportunity to ride here on our roads. We’ve invited and all six British UCI Continental teams have accepted, and we also have a very strong GB women’s team that will race, so it will be a real celebration of British women’s international elite road racing.”

It is not yet clear which Women’s WorldTour teams will be in attendance, with participation not mandatory, and the last-minute confirmation of the race possibly a roadblock for some teams.

Future events

Work is already ongoing to expand the races next year, with the women’s edition here to stay after a turbulent few years.

“I think we can offer a brilliant, fixed point in the calendar for women’s racing,” Dutton added. “We’ve spoken to more than 50 local authorities since the start of January. What that’s done is landed where we are today with the Tour of Britain Women, where we will land in September with the Tour of Britain Men, but perhaps more excitingly, we almost have more start and finish locations than we have opportunities for next year, which is really exciting.”

This year’s route features four regular road stages, but a time trial will be re-incorporated in future editions. Ellingworth said: “To put those stages on takes a lot more work, so with the time restrictions that we had we thought, let’s keep it quite simple, let’s put on some good, safe racing and go from there.”

Dutton also indicated that another Tour de France Grand Départ in Great Britain could be in the pipeline.

“We remain absolutely committed to working with UK Sport and government partners. We appreciate what happened in 2014 was absolutely fantastic and we’d love to do everything we can to bring it back. We definitely have the same level of determination for that as we do for [the Tour of Britain races].”

The men’s race, slated for September, is also still in the works, in a similarly curtailed form at six stages compared to the usual eight.

“We want the focus now to be, up to June, on the Tour of Britain Women. The team are almost there with finalising the route for the men’s. We would anticipate somewhere between the end of the women’s race and the start of the Olympics when we will [announce the route],” Dutton said.

Lizzie Deignan

• Team Lidl-Trek
• Nationality United Kingdom
• UCI Wins 41
• Height 1.68m

Tour of Britain Women

• Dates 6 Jun - 9 Jun
• Race Length 0 kms
• Race Category Elite Women

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Cycling has been part of the modern Olympic Games since the first edition back in 1896. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, the Olympic program for cycling now covers five separate disciplines and 11 different events. Read on to learn more about the history of the sport.

Which country has the most gold medals in Olympic cycling history?

France has won 41 gold medals in cycling, the most of any nation at the Olympic Games.

Which country has the most medals in Olympic cycling history?

Great Britain has won a total of 100 Olympic cycling medals (38 gold, 35 silver, 27 bronze), putting them just ahead of France's 93 on the all-time table.

How many Olympic gold medals has the United States won in cycling?

The United States has won 17 gold medals in cycling at the Olympic Games. Along with 22 silver and 21 bronze medals, the U.S. has collected a total of 60 Olympic cycling medals.

Which athlete holds the record for most Olympic cycling gold medals?

Great Britain's Jason Kenny holds the record for most gold medals (7) and most total medals (9) in cycling at the Olympic Games.

What is the history of cycling?

The first bikes are believed to have emerged from the forests of central Germany in 1816. The first official bike race took place in 1868 in France. In 1885, safety bicycles were manufactured in Coventry, England – a close cousin of today’s bike.

Cycling was introduced at the first modern Olympics in 1896. In 1903, Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France, which covered 1,450 miles in six stages. Road racing traditions continue today.

At the turn of the century, track cycling also garnered attention in the United States and was one of the nation’s most popular spectator sports. Events attracted celebrity-studded crowds that filled the Chicago Stadium and Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the late 1930s and 1940s, however, track cycling fell out of favor. Hundreds of velodromes were torn down as a result.

In the 1970s, cycling in the U.S. had a mini-Renaissance thanks, in part, to the advent of fat-tired all-terrain mountain bikes. Durango, Colorado, hosted the first national championship in 1986 and the first world championship in 1990. Americans Ned Overend and Julie Furtado won the inaugural world titles.

Also in the 1970s, bicycle motocross (otherwise known as BMX racing) became a popular sport in Southern California after some cyclists modified 20-inch Schwinn Stingray bicycles. In April 1981, the International BMX Federation was founded, and the first World BMX Racing Championships were held in 1982. In January 1993, BMX was integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, some BMX racers began performing tricks, and soon BMX freestyle emerged as its own discipline. American Bob Haro, who was a stunt rider in Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," is considered the Godfather of BMX freestyle. He started the first BMX freestyle tour in 1981, and the sport was subsequently featured in many televised events. In 2016, it was integrated into the UCI, which helped form a BMX Freestyle Park World Cup. After a successful season, BMX freestyle was added to the 2020 Olympic program in 2017.

Cycling results by year

Tokyo, 2020.

Road Cycling Weeks before the Games, Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz had finished third in the world’s most famous race, the Tour de France. In Tokyo, he became just the second rider to win the Olympic road race and finish on the Tour podium in the same year. In the process, Carapaz became the second-ever gold medalist in Ecuador's Olympic history. That year's Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia, finished with bronze in Tokyo.

Track Cycling American Jennifer Valente captured omnium gold, winning two of the event's four races to become the first-ever U.S. woman to win a track cycling title at the Olympics. Meanwhile, Great Britain's Jason Kenny won a silver medal in the team sprint and a gold medal in the keirin to give him the most Olympic gold medals (7) and most total medals (9) all-time for a cyclist and for a British athlete. Jason's wife, Laura Kenny , also won a silver medal and a gold medal, and she later retired as the most successful woman in Great Britain's Olympic history with a total of five career gold medals.

BMX Racing Rain slickened the track and made an impact on the women's event, as two of the top contenders — Alise Willoughby of the United States and Laura Smulders of the Netherlands — crashed out in the semifinals. In the final race, Great Britain's Bethany Shriever , who had to crowdfund and work part-time to pay for her BMX career, narrowly defeated two-time reigning Olympic champion Mariana Pajon of Colombia for gold in an amazing upset.

BMX Freestyle BMX freestyle made its Olympic debut in Tokyo with park contests for men and women. Australia's Logan Martin won the inaugural men's event, while Great Britain's Charlotte Worthington captured the first-ever women's gold. American Hannah Roberts entered as the favorite in the women's contest, but Worthington earned her gold medal by pulling out a never-been-done trick — a 360 backflip — in her second run to claim the win.

Mountain Biking Tom Pidcock won gold in the men's event to deliver Great Britain its first Olympic medal in mountain biking. Historically known for its numerous medals and dominance in Olympic track cycling, Great Britain had been missing hardware in this discipline until Tokyo.

Road Cycling A day before her 43rd birthday, American Kristin Armstrong became the oldest Olympic women's cycling medalist ever with her third straight gold medal in women's time trial. In the women's road race, leader Annemiek van Vleuten  of the Netherlands suffered a frightening crash in rainy conditions, which left her with a concussion and three small fractures in her spine. Her countrywoman, Anna van der Breggen , won the race.

Track Cycling Great Britain led the cycling medal table with six golds and twelve total medals, carried by its performance on the track. With gold in team pursuit, Bradley Wiggins became the first cyclist ever to win eight Olympic medals. Jason Kenny tied compatriot Chris Hoy  for the most all-time Olympic cycling gold medals with six after winning gold in sprint, keirin, and team sprint.

Entering the 2016 Rio Games, Leontien van Moorsel was the all-time leader in women's cycling gold medals with four and total medals with six. At their conclusion, she was tied for the most ever in both categories. Australian  Anna Meares won her sixth career Olympic medal, a bronze in women's keirin, while Laura Kenny (nee Trott) won her third and fourth career gold medals in Rio in omnium and team pursuit.

China won gold in women's team sprint, the country's first-ever Olympic gold medal in cycling.

Mountain Biking Swiss cross-country cyclist  Nino Schurter – after ascending the medal ladder with a bronze at the 2008 Games in Beijing and a silver at the 2012 Games in London, collecting five world titles on the way – finally attained Olympic gold in the men's event. Sweden's Jenny Rissveds beat out Beijing runner-up Maja Wloszczowska of Poland.

BMX Racing Colombia's Mariana Pajon defended her Olympic title, and American Connor Fields unseated two-time Olympic champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia to win the U.S. its first Olympic BMX gold.

London, 2012

Road Cycling In the women's road race, Holland's Marianne Vos won the gold medal, beating out Britain's Elizabeth Deignan (nee Armitstead) (silver) and Russia's Olga Zabelinskaya (bronze) on a typically rainy Sunday in London.

In the women's time trial, Kristin Armstrong of the United States, who had retired to start a family after winning gold in Beijing before returning to competition a year before the Games, dominated the field finishing more than 15 seconds faster than her closest competitor. Taking place shortly before her 39th birthday, Armstrong's victory made her cycling's oldest female gold medalist.

For the men, Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan won the gold, finishing ahead of Colombia's Rigoberto Uran and Norway's Alexander Kristoff . In the men's time trial, Great Britain's  Bradley Wiggins emerged victorious in his home country to become the first cyclist to win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year, beating Germany's Tony Martin and fellow countryman Chris Froome . The United States' Taylor Phinney finished fourth in both the road race and the time trial.

BMX Racing In men's BMX, Latvia's Maris Strombergs remained the Olympic sport's only male champion, winning his second straight Olympic gold with Sam Willoughby and Carlos Oquendo Zabala rounding out the field. On the women's side, Colombia's Mariana Pajon seized the gold medal, only Colombia's second since it began competing in the Games.   

Track Cycling The host country dominated inside the velodrome, where riders from Great Britain captured seven of a possible 10 gold medals. Victoria Pendleton represented England nobly with a gold medal in women's keirin and a silver in the women's sprint, and compatriot  Chris Hoy won his sixth gold medal, this time in the team sprint.

Two of Great Britain's big winners –  Jason Kenny , who took gold in the individual and team sprints, and Laura Trott , who won the omnium and was a member of the Brits' team pursuit gold – later revealed that they were dating after being photographed behind football legend David Beckham at a beach volleyball match.

Mountain Biking On the mountain bike course, Jaroslav Kulhavy and Julie Bresset won gold in the men's and women's events respectively. Georgia Gould captured the only mountain biking medal for the U.S. as she claimed bronze in the women's race. 

Beijing, 2008

Road Cycling On a hilly road course in Beijing, climber Spain's Samuel Sanchez stunned the field by sprinting to victory from a small breakaway group. Italy's Davide Rebellin finished second ahead of Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara , who also took gold in the men's time trial. However, Rebellin would test positive for CERA, a banned blood boosting agent, thus bumping Cancellara into the silver medal slot with Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev rounding out the road race podium. 

Due to strict regulations put in place by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG), spectators were not permitted to stand roadside along the road courses. For the women, this was the least of the problems, as the road race – won by Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke – was held in a driving rain that lasted the entire competition.

American  Kristin Armstrong won the women's time trial, defeating Brit  Emma Pooley by 25 seconds. It was the only U.S. cycling gold.

Track Cycling Great Britain dominated the track events, taking a haul of seven gold medals. Chris Hoy become a superstar with his three wins and was subsequently knighted.  Bradley Wiggins , who too would be knighted but after the future 2012 Games in London, won two golds.

Mountain Biking On a technical course in blistering conditions, France's Julien Absalon effortlessly defended his Athens gold medal in the men's cross-country mountain bike race ahead of teammate Jean-Christophe Peraud . Nino Schurter , 22, of Switzerland, turned heads by finishing third.

BMX Racing BMX, short for bicycle motocross, was added to the Olympic program. Latvian Maris Strombergs and Frenchwoman Anne-Caroline Chausson were crowned the first Olympic champions in BMX cycling.

Athens, 2004

Road Cycling One month after a back injury forced him out of the Tour de France, American Tyler Hamilton climbed from third place at the halfway mark to overtake Sydney gold-medalist Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia and win the Olympic men's road time trial.

"This is fantastic," Hamilton said. "I've dreamt about a gold medal ever since I was a kid. I'm really proud to represent my country. This the greatest moment of my career."

Fellow American Bobby Julich overcame a broken right wrist suffered in the Tour de France to take the bronze.

Hamilton came up with a positive doping "A" test after the race, but got to keep his medal after his "B" test was thrown out on a technicality. However, in 2011 he admitted to blood doping, a practice he claims to have learned while a member of Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team, and subsequently returned his gold medal.

Track Cycling Australia dominated the track cycling competition, picking up 10 medals, including five gold, in the 12 events contested. Among the highlights were Anna Meares setting a world record of 33.952 seconds en route to a gold medal in the women's time trial; Ryan Bayley winning gold in the men's sprint and keirin events; the Aussie men's pursuit team setting a world record in the first round before winning gold; and Graeme Brown and Stuart O'Grady winning Madison gold.

In 2000, Australian Katie Mactier gave up her career at a large Melbourne advertising agency to devote herself full-time to cycling. Four years later, she earned her first Olympic medal, silver in the women's individual pursuit. Originally a road competitor, Mactier only added track cycling to her repertoire in 2003, when she nearly beat Dutch Olympic champion Leontien van Moorsel in the individual pursuit at the World Championships that year. Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand set a world record in winning gold while Van Moorsel took bronze in her Olympic farewell.

Sydney, 2000

Track Cycling Thirty-year-old cyclist Leontien van Moorsel , her career once jeopardized by an eating disorder, was the star of Sydney's cycling competition. The Dutchwoman's stunning dominance began on the track with a victory in the individual pursuit, followed by silver in the points race.

Germany's Jens Fiedler , chasing his third consecutive Olympic title in the men's sprint, lost 2-0 in the Sydney semifinals to American Marty Nothstein . Four years earlier in the Atlanta final, Nothstein lost two close races to Fiedler. This time, the Pennsylvania native seized his golden moment and defeated  Florian Rousseau of France 2-0 to give the U.S. its first sprint gold since Mark Gorski at the 1984 Games.

American Chris Witty – a double-medalist in speed skating at the 1998 Nagano Games – finished fifth in the women’s 500m time trial. At the 2002 Salt Lake Games, she won the women’s 1000m gold medal in world record time.

Best capitalizing on an expanded cycling program for Sydney, France en route to its eight medals in cycling won three of the four new track events: the Olympic sprint, a team competition; the keirin, from Florian Rousseau ; and the women's 500m time trial, from Felicia Ballanger , who also defended her sprint title. The only new event not won by the French was the Madison, which went to a team from Australia.

Road Cycling With a sweep of the road race and time trial to add to her individual pursuit victory on the track, Dutchwoman  Leontien van Moorsel was one of six athletes to win three gold medals at the Sydney Games.

American Lance Armstrong , a two-time reigning Tour de France winner and cancer survivor, failed in his attempt to become the first man to win the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, taking the bronze in the time trial and finishing 13th in the road race. The medal, and all of Armstrong's Tour de France victories, were later revoked after it was discovered that he had used performance enhancing drugs since 1998. He had suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck shortly before the Olympics after colliding with a car during training.

Russia’s Viatcheslav Ekimov won the time trial to become the first cyclist to win Olympic gold 12 years apart — he won his first gold in 1988 in track cycling’s team pursuit event. Germany’s Jan Ullrich won the road race and placed second in the time trial.

Mountain Biking She said before the race she'd be happy to just win bronze, and her pink bike didn't exactly convey toughness. But in the Olympic women's mountain bike event, Italy's Paola Pezzo was as determined and tenacious as ever. After making "several errors" early, Pezzo fought for the lead on the fourth of five laps when she got entangled with Spain's two-time world champion, Margarita Fullana . Pezzo emerged from the tie-up, but Fullana fell, allowing the Italian to pull away and cruise to a successful defense of her Olympic title.

Atlanta, 1996

Mountain Biking Two decades after emerging on cycling's horizon, mountain biking made its Olympic debut in Atlanta with cross-country events. Dutch world champion Bart Brentjens , who prepared for the sweltering Atlanta conditions by riding a stationary bike in a hot and steamy room, comfortably won the men's race. Paola Pezzo , cycling's poster girl, took gold in the women's event ahead of favored Canadian Alison Sydor . American Susan DeMattei , a registered nurse, finished third.

Road Cycling With the ban on professional cyclists competing at the Olympics lifted, Spain's Miguel Indurain won gold in the time trial (road), less than two weeks after his streak of five consecutive Tour de France victories came to an end. Finishing sixth was American Lance Armstrong , who later became the second person to win five straight Tours.

Switzerland’s Pascal Richard outsprinted Denmark’s Rolf Sorensen to win the gold medal in the 221.85-kilometer (137.8-mile) men’s road race, the first open to professional riders in Olympic history. Richard dedicated his victory to his father, who died when Pascal was 18, and to 1992 Olympic champion Fabio Casartelli , who died from head injuries during the 1995 Tour de France. Casartelli’s parents attended the race. Two months after the Games, the Armstrong, who finished 12th in the road race, was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

France’s Jeannie Longo , considered by many to be the greatest female cyclist ever, finally captured an elusive Olympic gold medal at age 37 in her fourth Olympics. She won the gold in the road race and took the silver in the time trial. Professionals were also allowed to compete in track cycling, and France took advantage, winning four gold medals.

Track Cycling The U.S. won two medals – silvers by Marty Nothstein in the sprint and Erin Hartwell in the kilometer time trial.

Barcelona, 1992

Track Cycling Riding a new, high-tech bicycle that weighed less than 20 pounds, Britain's Chris Boardman dominated track cycling's individual pursuit competition. In the preliminary rounds, Boardman lowered the world record by nearly seven seconds. Then, in the race for gold, he overtook Germany's Jens Lehmann  – a feat never before achieved in an Olympic pursuit final – to become Britain's first Olympic cycling champion in 72 years, since the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.

The addition of the women's individual pursuit to the 1992 program helped lure American Rebecca Twigg and France's Jeannie Longo out of their retirements. Combined, they won seven world titles in the event in the 1980s. In a quarterfinal duel, Twigg, 29, edged Longo, 33, by two inches. Twigg then lost in the semifinals to relative unknown Kathy Watt of Australia, but did earn an Olympic bronze medal to go along with her 1984 road race silver. Longo, who finished second to the 5-foot-1 Watt in the Barcelona road race, competed at two more Olympics before retiring with four career medals.

Four years after winning the inaugural women's sprint event, representing the Soviet Union,  Erika Salumae took gold again in Barcelona. But this time, Salumae pedaled for her native Estonia, which had last competed independently at the 1936 Berlin Games. After becoming Estonia's first female Olympic champion, Salumae watched as the Estonian flag was raised upside down at the medal ceremony.

Spain’s Jose Moreno excited the home crowd by winning his nation’s first gold medal of the Games in the kilometer time trial. One year earlier, Moreno tested positive for steroids but was exonerated after the UCI, cycling’s international federation, found faulty procedures were used. American Erin Hartwell secured the bronze.

Road Cycling In the road race, Italy’s Fabio Casartelli edged the Netherlands' Erik Dekker to claim the gold. It was the last time this event was closed to professionals. Casartelli would soon turn pro, and three years later in the 1995 Tour de France, a vicious crash on a mountain descent resulted in his death. Three days later, Motorola teammate Lance Armstrong of the United States won a stage that he dedicated to Casartelli. Armstrong finished 14th in the 1992 Olympic event and turned professional immediately following the race.

In the women’s road race, France’s Jeannie Longo believed she had won the gold medal when she crossed the line, but she had not realized that Australia’s Kathy Watt had snuck out of the peloton and cruised to victory.

Seoul, 1988

As the USSR's Aleksandr Kirichenko entered the final lap of the men's kilometer track time trial, his rear tire began to deflate. By the time he reached the finish line, the tire had lost half of its air. Though permitted to re-run the race, Kirichenko and his coach decided against it, figuring he would be too exhausted to post a faster time. When pre-race favorite Martin Vinnicombe of Australia, the final competitor, finished 0.285 of a second behind Kirichenko, the Soviet had Olympic gold to accompany his flat tire.

Just seven months before competing in the first Olympic women's sprint event, track cyclist Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany won silver and gold in speed skating at the Calgary Games. In Seoul, participating in the sport she took up as a form of off-season training, Luding-Rothenburger finished runner-up to Soviet Erika Salumae to take silver in the sprint and become the only athlete with Olympic medals from both the Summer and Winter Games in the same year.

The men's and women's road races were marked by wild finishes, in which East German Olaf Ludwig and Dutchwoman Monique Knol , respectively, were victorious.

Los Angeles, 1984

Women contested an Olympic road race for the first time at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, helping the United States end a 72-year medal drought in cycling. Near the end of the 79.2-kilometer (49.2-mile) inaugural race, five cyclists made up the lead pack, including Americans  Rebecca Twigg and  Connie Carpenter-Phinney , who had competed in speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics at age 14. With 200 meters to go, Twigg broke away, followed by Carpenter-Phinney, who caught her teammate just before the finish line. Carpenter-Phinney then "threw" her bike forward and won the gold medal by less than than half a wheel, becoming the first female Olympic cycling champion. Carpenter-Phinney’s husband, Davis Phinney , finished fifth in the men’s road race and won a bronze in the team time trial. The team time trial was held on the Artesia Freeway, and the medal ceremony was held in front of the Regal Plastic Company and an exit sign for Avalon Boulevard.

With several top cyclists absent because of the Soviet-led boycott, the final of the men's sprint in 1984 saw American Mark Gorski defeat compatriot Nelson Vails . The last time a U.S. cyclist earned a medal in the track event was 1900, when John Henry Lake took bronze. Three years prior, Vails worked as a bike messenger in New York City. Gorski, a 1980 Olympian who didn't compete in Moscow because of the U.S. boycott, had retired following a crash that left him with a broken collarbone and concussion.

The U.S. won nine medals: four gold, three silver and two bronze.

Moscow, 1980

Host-nation cyclist Sergei Sukhoruchenkov  won gold in a road race missing presumptive favorite Greg LeMond of the United States due to the American-led boycott. LeMond would never race in the Olympics. David Weller of Jamaica took bronze in the 1,000-meter time trial, the nation's first and only Olympic medal through the 2016 Games in a sport that is not track and field.

Montreal, 1976

For the first time in Olympic history, track cycling events were held indoors, and the change produced some bizarre developments. Disaster struck the Czechoslovakian team when their wheels and spare tires were inadvertently fed into a trash compacter. Nonetheless, Czech Anton Tkac was able to win the 1,000-meter sprint.

West Germany came to the Games with several technical innovations. In the team pursuit, an event in which they were the reigning world champions, the West Germans rode to victory on tires filled with helium. They also brought aerodynamic one-piece silk racing suits, but were not allowed to use them because they were deemed to provide an unfair advantage.

Munich, 1972

Four Irish Republican Army cyclists joined the road race to protest the fact that the Irish Cycling Federation had competed against riders from Northern Ireland which the IRA believed should be joined with the Republic of Ireland. The quartet tried to run one Irish competitor off the road but were unsuccessful. They were arrested by West German police but later released without being charged. The original bronze medalist, Jaim Huelamo of Spain, was disqualified after testing positive for drugs.

Mexico City, 1968

The Swedish all-brother quartet of Gosta , Sture , Erik and Tomas Pettersson took silver in the no-longer contested team time trial event. Four years earlier in Tokyo, the brothers, minus Tomas, claimed bronze in the same event.

Tokyo, 1964

The Tokyo cycling competition was marked by two extraordinary competitions. In the 121-mile road race, Italy's Mario Zanin , a mechanic from Treviso, broke away from the pack 20 meters from the finish line to win the gold medal. In an amazingly close finish, only 0.16 of a second separated the top 51 finishers. In the match sprint, where competitors often slow to a halt for positioning, Italy's Giovanni Pettenella and Pierre Trentin of France set an Olympic record by standing still for 21 minutes, 57 seconds. Today, competitors cannot remain stationary for more than 30 seconds.

The Japanese constructed an $840,000 velodrome for the Games. The facility was used for the four days of cycling competition and torn down within a year so the land-starved nation could put the site to more practical use.

The road race was the scene of the first death in Olympic competition since the 1912 marathon. In the 100-kilometer team time trial event, the temperature in Rome reached 93 degrees. Danish cyclist Knut Jensen collapsed during the race, suffering a fractured skull. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

Jensen's death was initially attributed to sunstroke, but later it was revealed that the cyclist took a blood-circulation stimulant called Ronicol prior to the race, which caused his collapse. Jensen and Portuguese marathoner Francisco Lazaro  are the only two athletes ever to die during Olympic competition. (There are also a few instances of athletes dying during practice at the Olympics, with the most recent case being Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at the 2010 Winter Games.)

Italian track cyclist Sante Gaiardoni claimed victory in both the sprint and the kilometer time trial in Rome, becoming the only person to win both events. The reigning sprint world champion, Gaiardoni breezed through the competition three days after setting a world record in winning the time trial.

Melbourne, 1956

Ercole Baldini of Italy, already with a world title in the individual pursuit and a world record in the one-hour time trial in 1956, capped his superb season with gold in the Melbourne road race. France and Great Britain, who claimed that Baldini was shaded from the hot Australian sun by an Olympic film crew riding alongside him, challenged the Italian's Olympic victory, but it stood.

Helsinki, 1952

A sometimes-indifferent cyclist who once said, "I feel there is a lot more to this life than riding a bicycle," Russell Mockridge showed up in Helsinki five days into the 1952 Games because of an eligibility dispute. But the scramble had no adverse effect on the Australian, who raced to a pair of gold medals on the track in the time trial and tandem events. Six years later, Mockridge was killed when struck by a bus while competing in a race in Melbourne.

London, 1948

Jose Beyaert won France its second consecutive gold in the individual road race, which at the 1948 Games was run alongside the team race event. Finishes of each nation's three best cyclists counted toward the results of the team competition, won by Belgium.

Heavy favorite and reigning world champion Reg Harris of Great Britain, wounded in World War II as a tank driver, took silver in the sprint, which was won by Italy's Mario Ghella .

Berlin, 1936

The Berlin Olympic road race featured a mass start and narrow streets that created dangerous conditions. Several racers crashed in the late stages, but Robert Charpentier of France made it through to win the gold medal in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 5 seconds — just two-tenths of a second ahead of compatriot Guy Lapebie . Charpentier slowed just before he crossed the finish line, a maneuver that was later explained by photographs, which showed Lapebie grabbing his countryman’s shirt in a desperate effort to prevent him from winning.

Two days earlier, Charpentier was a member of France's victorious pursuit team on the track. In the first of the races in the best-of-three 1,000-meter sprint, German Toni Merkens swerved to prevent Arie van Vliet of the Netherlands from passing him. Officials did not call the blatant foul. After van Vlient dropped the second race, the Dutch protested. Cycling officials decided to levy a 100 mark fine on the German but not to overturn the result. Van Vlient got a modicum of revenge by winning the 1,000-meter time trial the next day, and Merkens was killed while defending Germany from the Soviet invasion at the end of World War II.

Los Angeles, 1932

Contemporary accounts report that road race gold medalist Attilio Pavesi of Italy carried a bowl of soup, a bucket of water, bananas, cinnamon rolls, jam, cheese sandwiches, spaghetti and two spare tires on his ride. He and Italy also won the team road race.

Amsterdam, 1928

Denmark's Willy Hansen won track cycling's inaugural Olympic kilometer time trial event. Australia's Edgar "Dunc" Gray , who never contested a time trial before arriving in Amsterdam, earned bronze in the race. Four years later in Los Angeles, he won gold in Olympic-record time to give Australia its first Olympic cycling champion. In 2000, Sydney organizers honored Gray by naming the Olympic velodrome after him.

Paris, 1924

At age 42,  Mauritius Peeters of the Netherlands took bronze in the tandem, four years after winning gold in the sprint. Peeters held the distinction of being cycling's oldest Olympic medalist of any color until Etienne de Wilde  – also 42, but older by 97 days – won silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The 50-kilometer race, held for its second and final time at the Olympics, was won by the Netherlands' Ko Willems . France's Armand Blanchonnet won the individual time trial and carried his teammates to victory as well in the team time trial.

Antwerp, 1920

With a narrow victory in the sprint, 38-year-old Mauritius Peeters of the Netherlands became the oldest cyclist to win Olympic gold. Railroad tracks crossed the road-race course in six places, so officials were stationed at each of the crossings to record any train-caused stoppages.

Stockholm, 1912

Beginning at 2 a.m. on July 7, the 123 participants in cycling's inaugural Olympic time trial were sent out at two-minute intervals to cover the 320-kilometer (199-mile) course around Stockholm's Lake Malar. Near the start, Karl Landsberg of Sweden was hit by a motor-wagon and dragged along the road behind it. South Africa's Rudolph Lewis , starting at 2:02 a.m., charged out fast and held on for gold; his winning time was 10 hours, 42 minutes, 39 seconds. Following the Games, Lewis was caught up in World War I while racing in Germany. He eventually returned to South Africa after enduring multiple war wounds and detention in several prison camps.

London, 1908

London's characteristically wet weather did not bode well for its Olympic cyclists at the 1908 Games. The Sporting Life noted that a flooded track during the Games was "the rule rather than the exception." Although cycling's 1,000-meter match sprint was contested, no medals were awarded following a bizarre turn of events. Four cyclists started the final, but over the course of the race, two were sidelined with punctured tires. In the end, Maurice Schilles of France beat Great Britain's Benjamin Jones by inches. But the race exceeded the 105-second time limit and was thus declared void.

St. Louis, 1904

American cyclists made up the entirety of the competitive field at the 1904 Games, with no foreign competitors.  Marcus Hurley of the U.S. won four of the seven cycling events and placed third in another. Only track races were held and none were certified as official Olympic competitions. All seven cycling events contested in St. Louis never returned to the Olympic program. After the Olympics, Hurley became an All-American basketball player at Columbia and earned a place in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Paris, 1900

The men's points race, an event in which points were awarded to riders during sprints that took place every 10 laps, made its Olympic debut in Paris. Italy's Enrico Brusoni became the first Olympic points race champion, outscoring the runner-up from Germany, 21-9. Brusoni remained the event's only gold medalist until it returned to the Olympic program for the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Athens, 1896

Cycling was among the nine sports contested at the first modern Olympics, and host Greece claimed a hard-earned gold in the 54-mile road race from Athens to Marathon and back. Despite several spills along the way, one of which required switching to a friend's bike, Aristidis Konstantinidis crossed the finish line triumphant, though "covered with dust, begrimed and dirty, his whole appearance showing traces of his various accidents," as described in the official report of the 1896 Games.

The cycling competition in Athens was marked by an act of sportsmanship from Frenchman Leon Flameng . At one point during the 100-kilometer (62-mile) track race – which required 300 laps and was attended by King George I) – Flameng dismounted his bike and waited while a Greek competitor dealt with mechanical problems. Despite a late fall, Flameng -- with a French flag tied to his leg -- pedaled to an easy gold medal.

In the grueling 12-hour race, Austria’s Adolf Shmal beat Britain’s Frederick Keeping by 333 meters.

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How You Ride the Great American Rail-Trail

Picture this: You hop on your bike in Washington, D.C. and start pedaling on a series of bike paths and peaceful sections of rail-trails. You angle northwest through Pennsylvania and cross Ohio, continuing across the Midwest into Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho until you reach Washington and cycle all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This journey across the U.S. is separated from traffic, utilizing a series of interconnected multi-use trails and allowing you to safely explore the vistas, small towns, and rich history across the country. 

Sound nice? That’s the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) vision for the Great American Rail-Trail , a massive undertaking more than 50% complete with over 2,050 completed miles already on the ground. New trail segments are added to the route each year, and RTC is working with hundreds of partners across the country to accelerate trail development. 

The Great American Rail-Trail is an Iconic Route in the Making

RTC began tracking rail-trail development in the late 1980s. Over time, a non-motorized route across America began to present itself. RTC waited until a pathway through the West was possible and the cro ss-country route was more than 50% completed before committing to leading its development. After conducting hundreds of meetings to gather input from trail partners, and local and state agencies, RTC announced the project to the public in May 2019.

As it stands, the route traverses 12 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 100 miles of trail in current active development. RTC works with hundreds of trail organizations and partners on local and state levels to help map this route, hitting major cities like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Columbus, Ohio, Seattle, Washington, and Missoula, Montana. Notable trail segments include the Great Allegheny Passage , Great Miami River Trail in Ohio, and the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail in the state of Washington. Since the trail segments aren’t fully linked, people embarking on this journey currently map their own connections between completed trail portions using a series of roadways. 

No matter what section or state you decide to ride, riding between historic towns and major cities on peaceful rail-trails is the adventure of a lifetime. More than 50 million people live within 50 miles of one of these proposed segments, so the opportunity for increased recreation on accessible, non-motorized paths is a benefit for everyone.

Each year has seen major strides in visibility, progress, and cyclists’ time spent on the route. Since the project was announced in 2019, more than $117.5 million in public and private resources have been invested in projects along the Great American Rail-Trail. 

Adventure Cycling Partners Up to Create a Detour Route through the Mountain West

In many parts of the country, people have several options for connecting existing sections, including traveling through towns with services and linking together road segments. Some regions need more connections than others. The Mountain West — particularly between the western end of the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail in Chadron, Nebraska and the eastern end of the Route of the Olympian in St. Regis, Montana — provides a unique challenge. This 960-mile section of the route has the fewest existing trail miles, and services can be spread far apart.

To help amend this, RTC came to Adventure Cycling to map a detour route. Since the Great American Rail-Trail is based on the idea that cyclists will be on separated paths away from vehicle traffic, it appeals to a certain audience of cyclists. As some of those cyclists are less comfortable on busier roadways, the detour route creates a temporary solution for those ready to ride it right now.

Adventure Cycling’s experience lies largely in building safe and accessible routes on existing roadways, and their cartographers tapped a few different resources to create the detour route. These included existing Adventure Cycling routes, regional and social network knowledge, and intel from state and local organizations and cycling groups. 

“RTC wants to create the safest, most comfortable riding experience for folks. Out here in the West, we have a much looser and more gap-filled set of paths to work from,” says Jenn Hamelman, Director of Routes for Adventure Cycling Association.

“RTC’s expertise is in rail-trails and separated paths, and our expertise is in trying to find the best solutions via roads,” says Hamelman, “This detour route travels through key communities that will be on the finalized segment, which will give them a preview of what it’s like to have bicycle travelers come through.”

This is the first time Adventure Cycling has collaborated with RTC on any sort of route development, but the Great American Rail-Trail does overlap with several Adventure Cycling routes, including the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in Butte, Montana, multiple sections of the Lewis & Clark Trail through Montana, and Parks, Peaks, and Prairies through Basin, Wyoming. Adventure Cycling mapped the route and provided all points of interest, including service information and towns.  RTC continues to work with its partners across the country to fill these gaps to ensure that anyone can take a trip on the Great American Rail-Trail through the Mountain West, whether for an afternoon or for an epic-weeks long adventure. Explore the 960-mile detour route and the entire Great American Rail-Trail here . 

How Should You Choose What Section to Ride?

There are plenty of sections to choose from on the Great American Rail-Trail, and the one you pick depends on your starting location, how much time you have to ride, and the amenities you’ll want along the way. Since the route largely follows old railroad lines, it means that many sections offer a new town every 5-20 miles, providing ample opportunities for supplies and amenities.

The states do vary in completion, so keep that in mind when picking your section. The 207 miles of Washington D.C. and Maryland are complete, and nearly all of Pennsylvania is mapped, including the iconic 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage. The 468 miles through Iowa are more than halfway complete, with 255 trail miles and 212 gap miles, and the new detour routes a more comfortable ride in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. You can find the breakdown of each state here , along with more information about trails and plans for development. 

“The Great American Rail-Trail offers something for everyone,” says Kevin Belle, Project Manager for Rails to Trails Conservancy. “This includes well-traveled, paved trails in an urban core to remote, unpaved trails that provide some one-on-one time with nature.”  

The longest continuous completed section of the Great American Rail-Trail travels between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along the C&O Canal National Historical Park and the Great Allegheny Passage , providing more than 330 miles of connected trail. Belle also recommends that users looking for a more rugged experience should try the trails in the western half of the route, like the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail in Nebraska. 

Remember that the terrain changes between the states, and not just with the percentage of route completed. As you move from the mid-Atlantic to the midwest, consider weather changes, and as you progress into Montana and Idaho, the climbing will increase and the elevation ramps up. 

What Type of Bike is Best for the Great American Rail-Trail?

Like we often say about starting out bicycle travel, the best bike is the one you already own. But if you’re interested in getting more into extended bike tours, we recommend going to a bike fitter and making sure you’re on a bike that suits both your body and your riding style. 

People ride all sorts of configurations on the Great American Rail-Trail, including lightweight carbon gravel bikes all the way to heavier-duty hardtail mountain bikes. Since there is little technical riding on this route, you won’t need anything super aggressive, and we suggest considering comfort over suspension. Think about whether you prefer a flat-bar bike or drop-bars, and whether it’s easier for you to ride flats or clipless. Whichever style suits your pre-existing touring preferences will be the best option. 

“Railroads can only travel at a low elevation grade, which makes their old corridors ideal for the trail needs of a wide variety of people,” says Belle. “Most of the existing trails along the Great American are paved or use a crushed stone surface, which most bikes can handle.” Belle did say that there are some segments that are a little more rugged in which a cyclist might benefit from a touring bike or mountain-bike hybrid, so do your research before picking a section and make sure your bike can handle it. 

How Should You Prepare to Ride the Great American Rail-Trail?

Consider your trip on the Great American Rail-Trail like any other bike travel journey with access to towns and resources. You’ll have to plan your trip itinerary, get your bike and gear ready, and start training. 

Once you’ve decided on a section of route and taken your timeline into consideration (how many miles per day you anticipate riding), we always suggest you start physically preparing. Adventure Cycling contributor Mac McCoy has a great overview of four training stages here , emphasizing the importance of not just training large muscle groups, but getting your seat ready for long days in the saddle and making sure your bike is set up for your proportions. This means everything from your seat height to the distance between the seat and handlebars, and ensuring everything is working properly. It doesn’t hurt to bring the bike in for a full tune, or do your own multipoint inspection at home.  

We recommend starting training at least 12 weeks before your planned departure date — whether you’re riding indoors or outdoors — and cycling at least three days per week. Aim for time spent in the saddle as opposed to distance, and work up to two hours or more for your longer rides, keeping in mind you’ll be taking plenty of breaks on the Great American Rail-Trail for sightseeing, snacks, and unplanned days off in particularly cool cities.

One of the great things about almost any section of the Great American Rail-Trail is that you’re never far from resources, and while much of the scenery feels peaceful and far from civilization, these pathways and trail segments are popular thru-ways between towns and along rivers. You don’t have the remoteness of other routes to consider when worrying about mechanicals, gear issues, or resupply issues.

While there are more resources than other cross-country routes, we still recommend knowing the region and familiarizing with the resources and highlights of your section. Knowing your own to resources, bike shops, and cell service can provide peace of mind. 

**Editor’s note: The images in this article show different segments of the Great American Rail-Trail, but they do not depict the detour route through the Mountain West unless noted.

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