Top teams get on bikes for big Tour

ALL four of Britain’s male UCI continental teams and a Great Britain squad have been unveiled as the first confirmed squads for the Tour of Britain 2022.

The prestigious race runs from September 4-11 and includes a stage from Durham to Sunderland.

Wiv SunGod will compete in their national tour for the fifth successive time, while Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, Saint Piran and TRINITY Racing return having all made their race debuts in 2021.

The Great Britain cycling team – who have ridden 14 of the 17 modern Tours to date, including every edition since 2012 – completed the team announcement.

Tour of Britain organiser SweetSpot and British Cycling have issued invitations to the quartet of UCI Continental teams in recognition of the challenging sponsorship climate they continue to face.

Details of the UCI World and Pro Teams competing in this year’s race will be announced later this month.

Hampshire-based Wiv SunGod have enjoyed significant success at the Tour since their first participation in 2017, most notably winning both the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and sprints jerseys last year with Jake Scott.

Their 16-man roster also includes newly-crowned Irish road race champion Rory Townsend and Matt Bostock, who won the British Circuit Race Championships in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, last Friday.

Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling impressed on their Tour of Britain debut in 2021, recording four top-10 stage finishes and having the highest overall finisher – James Shaw – of the domestic teams.

Six of their 16-rider squad could potentially get to race on home roads in this year’s race.

Siblings and Commonwealth Games 2018 medallists Charlie and Harry Tanfield are from the North Yorkshire village of Great Ayton, which is raced through on stage four.

Also returning for a secondyear running are Saint Piran, Cornwall’s first elite cycling team.

Their roster was bolstered for 2022 by the arrival of sprinter Gabz Cullaigh, who has recorded three top-10 stage finishes in the Tour.