The opening Liverpool stage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain will be televised live on ITV for the first time this September.
Three hours of action from the opening stage of the 2014 race in Liverpool will be shown live on ITV on Sunday 7 September, getting Britain’s biggest professional cycle race underway in front of the biggest possible audience.
Niall Sloane, ITV's director of sport, said: "Following our extremely popular coverage of this year’s Tour de France, we're delighted for the first time to bring ITV viewers live coverage of the first day of country’s major cycling event. The fact the rest of the event is on ITV4 complements the channel’s extensive cycling offer.”
Live daily coverage will then switch to ITV4 from stage two, Knowsley to Llandudno, onwards, with three hours of action being shown daily, while ITV4 will retain the popular one-hour highlights show each evening, with both programmes hosted by Ned Boulting.
Commenting on the announcement, Mick Bennett, race director for the Friends Life Tour of Britain said; “The addition of the ITV coverage for stage one is a great boost for the race, our partners and of course the many hundreds of thousands of spectators who tune in to watch the race each day.
“We hope that being on ITV for the Liverpool stage will expose the race to new audiences, who will continue to tune in across the subsequent seven stages. With the route, and the line-up of teams and riders we will have on the start line in Liverpool, there is sure to be great action, in some fantastic locations, for ITV viewers to enjoy.”
Full details of the ITV coverage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain are listed below:
Friends Life Tour of Britain ITV schedule
Sunday 7 September
2:00pm - 5:00pm, Stage one, Liverpool – Live on ITV
9:00pm - 10:00pm, Highlights - ITV4
Monday 8 September
1:00pm - 4:00pm, Stage two, Knowsley to Llandudno, Live on ITV4
8:00pm - 9:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Tuesday 9 September
1:00pm - 4:00pm, Stage three, Newtown to the Tumble, Live on ITV4
10:00pm - 11:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Wednesday 10 September
1.00pm - 4:00pm, Stage four, Worcester to Bristol, Live on ITV4
8:00pm - 9:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Thursday 11 September
1.00pm - 4:00pm, Stage five, Exmouth to Exeter, Live on ITV4
8:00pm - 9:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Friday 12 September
1.00pm - 4:00pm, Stage six, Bath to Hemel Hempstead, Live on ITV4
8:00pm - 9:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Saturday 13 September
1:00pm - 4:00pm, Stage seven, Camberley to Brighton, Live on ITV4
8:00 - 9:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Sunday 14 September
3:00pm - 6:00pm, Stage eight, London, Live on ITV4
9:00pm - 10:00pm, Highlights, ITV4
Details of the worldwide distribution of the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain programming will be confirmed ahead of the Liverpool grand depart.
