By Susan Westemeyer
The Tour of Britain has finished in London in each of its first three years, but this year the race will head in the other direction. Or, as the race organizers put it, they are "turning the tour on its head!" The 2007 edition of the race starts with a prologue in London and ends up in Glasgow, Scotland. In addition, the race has gained an extra stage and moved up to seven days.
This year's race travels through Kent and the southeast, Somerset, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, the northwest, and Scotland, ending up in Glasgow, where it started last year. It will be held September 9 - 15.
The third stage takes the riders from Worcester to Wolverhampton, and will be one of the shortest stages of the race. Stage four crosses through Yorkshire, from Rotherham to Bradford. The fifth stage "is sure to be one of the most picturesque stages of the 2007 race, as well as a challenging one for the riders' tired legs," the organizers say, leaving Liverpool and heading north, "skirting the Lancashire fells and lakes" before finishing in Kendal in the Lake District. The final stage sends the riders through the Southern Uplands on their way from Dumfries to Glasgow.
