After a 721-day hiatus, this weekend sees the return of AJ Bell Tour of Britain, a south-to-north voyage from Cornwall to Aberdeen spread over eight days of scintillating racing.

Here we’ve pulled together all the key spectator and broadcast info, riders to watch, and details of the team who will be donning the red, white and blue Great Britain Cycling Team jersey.

Watching from the roadside

With eight stages spread over three counties from 5-12 September, there are loads of great opportunities to cheer on the riders from the roadside at this year’s race.

You can find full details of each stage here and key information for spectators here. Please note that while Covid-19 restrictions have eased across Britain over recent months, there will sadly be no spectator access permitted at the stage starts in Llandeilo (Tuesday 7 September) and Aberaeron (Wednesday 8 September), and there will be no public access to team parking at stage starts and finishes.

You can read more about the Covid protocols in place throughout the race here.

Watching from home

We’re thrilled that every moment of this year’s race will be broadcast live on ITV4, with a one-hour highlights show every evening for those not lucky enough to be able to watch the action live.

You can find the full broadcast schedule here, and you can get all the latest updates on the race through @TourofBritain on Twitter.

Ones to watch

Mark Cavendish headlines a typically top-class field this year, fresh from his record-breaking summer escapades at the Tour de France, alongside home heroes including Tokyo silver medallist Ethan Hayter, Alex Dowsett and Connor Swift.

The 2018 winner Julian Alaphilippe will ride alongside Mark Cavendish for Deceuninck – Quick-Step, while Wout van Aert will lead the charge for Jumbo Visma.

You can find the full rider list here.

Great Britain Cycling Team

Over recent years the AJ Bell Tour of Britain has provided many of the country’s most talented young riders with the opportunity to pit their wits against the world’s best, and the Great Britain Cycling Team will be back once again this year.

Tour de l’Avenir stage winner and Olympic debutant Ethan Vernon will be joined by senior academy riders Rhys Britton, Alfie George, Max Rushby, Will Tidball and Sam Watson on the start-line in Cornwall, and we can’t wait to see how they get on.

Get behind our UCI Continental teams

In recognition of the lack of racing opportunities in the UK due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year ourselves and AJ Bell Tour of Britain organiser SweetSpot issued invitations to all five of Britain’s UCI Continental teams – ensuring they could provide a guaranteed top-level racing opportunity for their riders and extend commercial partnership opportunities.

Canyon dhb SunGod and SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling will return to the UK’s most prestigious race having previously won jerseys in the event, while Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, Saint Piran and TRINITY Racing will make their Tour debuts.

Each team is packed with talent, but keep your eyes peeled for Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod), James Shaw (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling), Tom Mazzone (Saint Piran), Alex Peters (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) and Thomas Gloag (TRINITY Racing), who have all been in great form of late.

Share your support

If you're out with the family, or want to tell us how great your region is, you can share your day in the life throughout the stages via our link which may be featured on social media.