AJ Bell Tour of Britain 2022 returns on Sunday as Aberdeenshire takes centre stage
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The AJ Bell Tour of Britain, the UK’s most prestigious cycle race, returns on Sunday for what promises to be the most spectacular edition to date.
Eighteen of the world’s leading teams and 108 riders will compete in the eight-day race, which begins in the heart of historic Aberdeen on Sunday, September 4 and will be watched by a roadside audience of over one million spectators, plus many more on ITV4 in the UK.
Home favourites INEOS Grenadiers will be led by Yorkshireman Tom Pidcock, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and recent Tour de France stage winner.
The second most-successful team in race history have also selected former world road race champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and Tour de France podium finisher Richie Porte (Australia) in their line-up. Porte will end his glittering 13-year professional career at the race.
Competing in the race for the first time since 2014, BORA – Hansgrohe will look for success with Nils Politt, Marco Haller and Lukas Pöstlberger. Politt, who was crowned the German road champion in June, won a Tour de France stage in 2021 (ahead of Spaniard Imanol Erviti, who coincidentally will line-up for the Movistar Team in the race).
The 28-year-old will return to the race for the first time since the 2019 edition, in which he finished fifth overall.
Austrian rider Haller sprinted to a memorable victory in the BEMER Cyclassics one-day race around Hamburg in mid-August, while compatriot Pöstlberger famously won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2017.
Politt will be one of seven reigning national road race champions will also display their country’s colours prominently in the race: Felix Großschartner (Austria, BORA – hansgrohe); Filippo Zana (Italy, Bardiani CSF Faizanè); Abner González (Puerto Rico, Movistar Team); Rasmus Tiller (Norway, Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Rory Townsend (Ireland, Wiv SunGod) and Red Walters (Grenada, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling).
Israel – Premier Tech have named arguably their strongest-ever line-up for the race, led by two-time Tour de France stage winner Dylan Teuns. The Belgian rider, who has declared his intentions to target the overall victory, will be supported by last year’s fifth placed overall Michael Woods and Briton Alex Dowsett.
Dowsett announced last week that he will retire from top-level racing at the end of this season, ending a 12-year professional career that includes one stage victory in his home tour as well as leading the race in 2014.
“Since I decided that I will retire, I have become more excited about the future. It will be fantastic to do this race one last time,” said Dowsett.
Movistar Team’s ninth-consecutive appearance in the race will see American rider Matteo Jorgenson, who finished 21st in this year’s Tour de France, spearhead their attack.
Two-time Vuelta a Espana stage winner Imanol Erviti and Madrid-born Gonzalo Serrano, who recorded three top-10 stages finishes en route to placing 11th overall last year, also return to the event.
Former Giro d’Italia stage winners Enrico Battaglin and Sacha Modolo will also both return as part of the Italian Bardiani CSF Faizanè team.
The fifth UCI WorldTeam in the event, Team DSM, have selected Dutch sprinter Cees Bol and Australian climber Chris Hamilton as part of their squad. Bol recorded two top-10 finishes at the race in 2019, a year after Hamilton placed ninth overall.
Team DSM also include Oscar Onley, one of three Scots in the race who will be racing on home roads during the opening two stages of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain. Onley hails from Kelso in the Scottish Borders and will race through the centre of his hometown during stage two on Monday 5 September.
The opening stage in the north-east is as close to home as the race gets for Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Finn Crockett, who is from Inverness.
“To have a stage so close to home is brilliant, it is good to have the limelight on the north of Scotland,” said Crockett.
“It’s going to be a tough stage up to Glenshee on Sunday and I’m sure the Scottish crowds will turn out.
“It’s the biggest race that Ribble Weldtite will do so of course I have my own goals and that’s to get up there in the stages and you’ll hopefully see us in the breakaways flying the Ribble colours.”
Completing the line is Calum Johnston who will race for the Caja Rural – Seguros RGA team. Johnston said: “This is my first Tour of Britain and it's going to be super special as the first two stages are in Scotland. It is a very important race for me, I am going to compete close to my family, friends and all the people who support me, which motivates me extra to give my best here.
“The first stage in Aberdeen is the most difficult, so much so that I think it will be decisive for the general classification. The final climb to Glenshee is very tough and I think it will cause a big gap between the favourites.”
A strong Great Britain national team will feature Connor Swift, the British road race champion in 2019, recent Tour de l’Ain stage winner Jake Stewart and emerging star Sam Watson.
Britain’s four domestic teams, all of whom will look for ways to showcase themselves, will also be on the start line in Aberdeen. Wiv SunGod are the most successful of the quartet, having claimed the Sportsbreaks.com sprints jersey in the past three editions. Last year’s winner, Jacob Scott, doubled up spectacularly in 2021 by also winning the ŠKODA King of the Mountains prize. He and the aforementioned Townsend headline the team’s line-up.
Alex Richardson, who placed third at the British Cycling National Road Championships in June and won the recent Ryedale GP in North Yorkshire, will lead Saint Piran’s charge in the race. TRINITY Racing, who are managed by two-time stage winner Ian Stannard, have named former American criterium champion Luke Lamperti, who came fourth at Warrington in the AJ Bell Tour of Britain last September.
British track stars Charlie and Harry Tanfield will race through their home village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, on stage four of the race. The siblings have been selected to race for Ribble Weldtite, whose line-up also features Nottinghamshire’s Ross Lamb, another rider who will enjoy a home stage during the Tour.
ITV4 will continue to broadcast live flag-to-flag coverage of every stage and nightly highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch wherever they are.
The race will also be shown in over 150 countries worldwide, thanks to the event's partnerships with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network.
