Deceuninck-QuickStep, Jumbo-Visma and Alpecin-Fenix are among the teams confirmed for the Tour of Britain, a race that could serve as preparation for the World Championships for Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.
The 2021 Tour of Britain takes place from September 5-12, with the elite men’s road race at the World Championships in Belgium fixed for September 26.
On Tuesday, the Tour of Britain organisation confirmed that this year’s race will feature seven WorldTour squads, with Ineos Grenadiers, Israel Start-Up Nation, Movistar Team, Team DSM and Team Qhubeka NextHash joining Deceuninck-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma on the start line in Cornwall.
Alpecin-Fenix is one of four ProTeams in the race, alongside Rally Cycling, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and Arkéa-Samsic.
Jumbo-Visma have already confirmed that Van Aert will line up in Britain. The Belgian took silver in the road race at the Tokyo Olympic Games after winning a hat-trick of stages at the Tour de France. He begins his build-up to the Worlds and Paris-Roubaix when he rides the Bretagne Classic at the end of this month.
Van der Poel won the last edition of the Tour of Britain in 2019 as he built towards that September’s Yorkshire Worlds. The Dutchman competed in the mountain bike event at the Tokyo Olympics and he has yet to outline his programme ahead of this year’s Worlds.
Alaphilippe preceded Van der Poel on the roll of honour, winning the race overall in 2018. Deceuninck-QuickStep have yet to confirm his participation, though the absence of the WorldTour races in Québec and Montreal from the calendar due to the COVID-19 could see more Worlds contenders that usual take part in the Tour of Britain.
It remains to be seen if Mark Cavendish will line out at the Tour of Britain for Deceuninck-QuickStep. The Manxman won four stages and the green jersey at the Tour de France, equalling Eddy Merckx’s longstanding record for stage victories, and he returned to action on Tuesday at the Tour of Denmark.
“What a race we have in store for us this September. Once again, we’ve attracted the world’s biggest teams to the Tour of Britain, and I know they’re going to put on a show for the home fans and our worldwide TV audience,” race director Mick Bennett said. “Combined with those British domestic teams we’ve invited, who always ride fearlessly and get stuck in, I really cannot wait for the racing to begin now.”
The 2021 Tour of Britain begins in Cornwall on September 5 and features a team time trial on stage 3. The race concludes in Aberdeen on September 12.
Teams for the 2021 Tour of Britain: Alpecin-Fenix, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Canyon dhb SunGod, Deceuninck-QuickStep, Global 6 Cycling, Great Britain, Ineos Grenadiers, Israel Start-Up Nation, Movistar Team, Rally Cycling, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, Saint Piran (Great Britain), SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Team Arkéa-Samsic, Team DSM, Team Jumbo-Visma, Team Qhubeka NextHash, Trinity Racing.
