This is your comprehensive guide to when and where you can view the Isle of Wight stage of the Tour of Britain when it arrives here next Sunday (11th September).
Island Echo has split the 150km route into 7 areas, highlighting the estimated timings and top spectator vantage points in an easy-to-read format.
The action gets underway in Ryde at 11:00 with a ceremonial start, with competitors then racing their way through St Helens and Bembridge to Sandown where the first sprint will take place. It’s then time for the first King of the Mountain challenge at Brading Downs. There will be sprints at Yarmouth and Cowes too, which further King of the Mountain challenges at Cowleaze Hill, Shanklin and Zig Zag Road, Ventnor.
The inaugural Isle of Wight stage of the Tour of Britain will come to a close at The Needles – the final King of the Mountain challenge of the stage and the whole Tour. Even for the professionals it will be an almighty challenge.
Click each area below to find out what’s happening in your community…
- Ryde to St Helens
- Bembridge and Sandown to Downend
- Merstone to Tapnell
- West Wight to Shalfleet
- Cowes and Newport
- Godshill, Shanklin and Ventnor
- Military Road to The Needles
The varied nature of the course will cause difficulty for even the most experienced riders, with Dan Martin, ambassador for the Tour of Britain, and multiple Tour de France stage winner, telling Island Echo last month:
“It’s really deceiving when you compare it to a stage in the alps it looks like nothing, but the narrow twisting roads and steep gradients, its really tricky and I think it’ll catch a lot of riders out. When I first trained over here, I couldn’t believe how hard the roads were here, it’s really technical and demanding”
A very good opportunity to show up with placards and protest about the massive energy price hikes and how the government are AWOL. I know I will be….
Also a very good opportunity for these morons that keep glueing them selfs to motorways to glue them selfs to the route, because according to some of helmet lovers on here it’s going to have a massive worldwide audience, and bring so much revenue to the island!!
I never realised the island could get so much money from people watching telly in foreign countries. I take it all back. Maybe they could show reruns of the Arreton Motorcross too.
no one turned up for the smokey 2 stroke brigade
How does that work then???? There will be NO benefit to the island at all. Own staff, own supplies and chaos. Nice benefit.
own? as in ownership? you’ve lost me!
Twat
Yeah sure you will
How silly
Does nobody fact-check or proofread these reports?
It’s 150KMS (not miles).
Three typos at least…
The only thing that will be worth tuning into for is to watch these so called elite athletes crash and take out all the other sad Lycra idiots peddling behind, just a shame we need all this annoyance and hassle to see some stuck up loser crash! Still every cloud and all that!
Overner!
Come on moderators. How is wishing people crash and get injured or killed acceptable. If I posted that I wished “Dippy Dave” got crushed by a bus, would that be acceptable? Of course not, and neither is this comment.
Just my opinion, I’m entitled to share my opinion arnt I? Your just annoyed that the majority of this country agrees with me, as no one likes Lycra idiots blocking the rds,
You are a disgusting person and a complete waste of oxygen.
Just my opinion.
or overners
Didn’t you know, the woke brigade have banned freedom of speech. From now on you must behave as a politically correct robot and you are not entitled to an opinion of your own.
I can see why you’re called dippy!
Has any of you ever thought that this is about the Island getting more advertising for a great getaway , showing people how there’s much more to our lovely Island .
If you show up with placards or super glue or worse throw yourself in front of the riders you will look just as stupid the others on the mainland.
They should change the name of the island to “Isle of Gripe”
it is a good event for the island , clean and healthy , we have a lot of cyclists on the island hopefully it will promote more cycling , one way to beat the so called petrol crisis get a bike and get healthy
Yes and nothing else is allowed or you so called green people moan about everything else, boring event causes mayhem
Hundreds if not thousands of cars which are usually parked on the roadsides will need to be found somewhere else to park the night before the event and on the day of the event. Has the Council has mustered up extra spaces to manage that ? Nope.
Everyone trying to get from A to B on that day will need to anticipate usual key routes being unavailable and massive pressure on back roads in order to reach their destinations/long delays. Has the Council got a cunning plan for that? If they have, it’s being kept pretty quiet.
The benefit to the Island has to be balanced with the adverse impact. Thousands of us will be negatively affected and directly inconvenienced. Glad you choose to think it’s a good event for the island, but I don’t share your optimism!
So what fuel are their support vehicles using? Recycled butterfly wings?
What a crock of s#i#. Let’s shut down the island for one of the most boring sports in the world. What happened to the motorcycle road race??? What happened to the motorcross race in arreton which was voted one of the best tracks in the world? Look at the money that both these sports would’ve brought to the island? Bloody millions? But no because the local residents didn’t want the noise and these old local guffers have spoiled it for the rest of the island and the world. Shame on the IW COUNCIL. The island has enough of these Lycra clad traffic jammers already. This shi##y event will bring nothing to the island but chaos, no revenue. CRAP.
Very well said!!
Well said couldn’t agree more
So the whole Island will be unusable on Sunday, Great!.
Still can’t get an answer to the question ‘ why is Fairlee Road closed as there is no racing through that road. Can anyone out there help.