Preview: Tour of Britain stage 8

Reigate - Guildford

Perhaps surprisingly Box Hill doesn’t feature, but as Surrey riders know there’s more than one hill and Stage 8 doesn’t disappoint with Leith Hill and Bar Hatch Lane included among the day’s four categorised climbs, guaranteed to hurt tired legs which will already have notched up over 1000km during the previous week. There are two sprints early on in Dorking, Guildford and a third in Ockley. And just in case the Gold jersey leader thinks he can sip champagne all the way round the final stage the route planners have thoughtfully including some toothrattling uphill cobbles on Guildford High Street.

Mildly interesting stage fact off of the Internet

Start town Reigate is the setting for a short Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Adventure of the Reigate Squire, published in 1893. And Guildford Cathedral features in the classic 1970s horror film The Omen.