The organisers of the Tour of Britain have announced the cancellation of the final three stages of the race following the death of Queen Elizabeth ll.
Queen Elizabeth ll, the longest-reigning British monarch, died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was 96. Queen Elizabeth ll will lie in state in Westminster as part of 10 days of national mourning beginning on Friday.
"The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, are deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. We would like to send our deepest condolences to the whole of the Royal Family," Tour of Britain organiser, SweetSpot, wrote in a statement.
SweetSpot issued a first statement upon the conclusion of stage 5 in Mansfield, Thursday, initially informing the public that stage 6, which was scheduled to take place from Tewkesbury to Gloucester on Friday, would not take place.
In a new update from SweetSpot, it confirmed the decision has been made to also cancel the final two stages; stage 7 that was scheduled to take place from West Bay to Ferndown on Saturday and stage 8 from Ryde to The Needles on the Isle of Wight on Sunday.
Other sporting events in Britain have also been cancelled.
"Further to the earlier statement in relation to the cancellation of stage six as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, the organisers of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain can additionally confirm that stages seven (Dorset) and eight (Isle of Wight) will not take place," said SweetSpot.
"This decision has been taken in consultation with stakeholders and partners in light of operational circumstances, including the understandable reassignment of police resource at this time."
The Tour of Britain in an eight-day race which was to be held from September 4-11. Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar) was leading the overall classification following stage 5, and therefore becomes the overall winner of the 2022 Tour of Britain.
Under UCI rules, and as the overall winner, Serrano will also be awarded the winner's UCI ranking points, helping Movistar in their battle to avoid relegation from the WorldTour.
Thomas Pidcock and Omar Fraile, both Ineos Grenadiers, finished second and third overall, respectively.
"The final standings will be taken following the conclusion of stage five on Thursday 8 September. The winner of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain 2022 will be Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team)," confirmed SweetSpot.
"Additionally, the respective classification leaders – Tom Pidcock (Dodl by AJ Bell points), Mathijs Paasschens (ŠKODA King of the Mountains) and Matthew Teggart (Sportsbreaks.com Sprints) – will also be declared the winners of those competitions.
"The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, send their deepest condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time."
