Tour de France Yellow Jersey Coming to Britain

Story posted July 8, 2008

Event Press Release

Home page for Tour of Britain 2008

Romain Feillu in yellow at last years Tour of Britain between two high flying British riders, Mark Cavendish also in the Tour de France this year and Ben Swift, fourth in the European Road Race championship last weekend.

CSC's Aussie Invasion plus Tour de France Yellow Jersey to ride The Tour of Britain

As the months pass by before the country's biggest professional bike race, The Tour of Britain, the list of riders and teams coming to the event is growing and one of the most exciting press releases so far announces two major signings -- World Number 1 team CSC and French team Agritubel.

2007 Tour of Britain winner Romain Feillu to defend his title
Current Yellow jersey in the Tour de France, Romain Feillu, is reported to be coming back to defend his title in the Tour of Britain. The organisers of The Tour of Britain are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement with the French Agritubel team, for them to ride the 2008 Tour of Britain, with a roster led by Tour of Britain winner 2007 Romain Feillu.

Having obviously developed a taste for yellow, following his victory in The Tour of Britain last year, Feillu finished third on today's Stage Three of the Tour de France in Nantes, in the process taking on the races' yellow jersey. British fans will have the chance to see Feillu and his Agritubel team defend their title at The Tour of Britain, beginning in London on Sunday 7th September.

Agritubel become the third team currently competing in the Tour de France to have agreed to ride the 2008 Tour of Britain, following similar announcements regarding Barloworld and Team Columbia (High Road). Thirteen of the sixteen squads have now been announced, with further announcements on the remaining teams in the coming week.

The Aussie CSC Invasion

2007_ToB_Matt_Goss

Matt Goss shows how much winning means to him as he takes a stage in the Tour of Britain.

How fitting it is with so many British teams taking part that there is also going to be some significant Australian riders in the race to keep them honest. Headlining the provisional line-up for CSC are a pair of Olympic and World Champions in Stuart O’Grady and Bradley McGee and a former Tour of Britain stage winner in Matthew Goss.

O’Grady, who is currently riding the Tour de France, is one of the most successful Australian cyclists ever, and no stranger to British roads having won the PruTour in 1998 and clinched Gold in the Road Race at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Stuart was also a major star of the Good Friday track meeting in London a few years ago.

Fellow Australian McGee, who has also appeared at Good Friday, has won stages at both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia and worn the leaders jersey in both races. McGee will be riding The Tour of Britain just two weeks after having competed in the Beijing Olympics, where he will have gone head-to-head with the successful British track cycling team.

Backing up O’Grady and McGee will be a third Australian, Goss. The 21 year old wore The Tour of Britain’s yellow jersey for a day in 2006, though had to abandon the race through injury. A year later and now riding for Team CSC, Goss took victory at the end of Stage 3 into Wolverhampton. Currently a trio of young Danes – Anders Lund, Andre Steensen and Kasper Klostergaard – are scheduled to complete the Team CSC – Saxo Bank roster for the race, which the squad have ridden every year since it’s re-birth in 2004.

The team’s most successful year came in 2006 when they won the race with Martin Pedersen (who also won the first stage), the E.ON King of the Mountains jersey with Andy Schleck, as well as the overall team classification. European investment bank Saxo Bank recently joined Team CSC as co-sponsor until the end of the 2008 season, when they will then take over the title sponsorship of the squad becoming Team Saxo Bank.

Commenting on the announcement, Tour of Britain spokesman Paul Rowlands said: “We are very pleased to welcome Team CSC – Saxo Bank back to The Tour of Britain. The race is now five year’s old, and Team CSC – Saxo Bank have supported us right from the start, sending a strong and competitive squad every year to the race, and I’m sure 2008 will be no different. Stuart O’Grady and Bradley McGee are both excellent, world-class bike riders, while everyone at The Tour of Britain knows what a great cyclist Matthew Goss is, and felt for him when he had to drop out of the 2006 race while wearing the yellow jersey.”