Tour of Britain start list announced

Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medallists Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Tom
Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), headline the 108-rider provisional start list for the Lloyds Bank
Tour of Britain Men, which gets underway in Kelso, Scottish Borders today (Tuesday 3
September).

“I am looking forward to returning to racing at the Tour of Britain, after my post-Olympics break,” said Evenepoel. “My last period of racing was very special for me and it was great that I could recharge a little afterwards, but it’s time to pin on a number again as I look forward to the big races of this autumn. It is especially nice that I can start in Scotland, where I have the memories of winning the Worlds ITT race last summer.”

Olympic road race and time-trial champion Evenepoel, and cross-country mountain bike
champion Pidcock, will be joined by a brace of British silver medallists from the team pursuit
squad in Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech).

Hayter, who is also the current Lloyds Bank British national road race champion, is part of an
INEOS Grenadiers line-up who will feel well at home on stage three in South Yorkshire, with
team members Ben Swift, Connor Swift, and Ben Turner, hailing from Rotherham, Thorne,
and Doncaster respectively in that region.

Connor and Ben arrive at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men having finished first and third
respectively at the British national gravel championships in Scotland this weekend. The INEOS
Grenadiers line-up is completed by race debutant Tobias Foss, the 2022 world time-trial
champion.

Vernon will be joined by a trio of Brits in his team with Jake Stewart, Stevie Williams, and
recent history maker Joseph Blackmore, who last weekend became the first British rider to
win the Tour de l’Avenir. Australian pair Nick Schultz and Simon Clarke, twice a top 10 overall
finisher from his seven participations, complete that line-up.

Commenting on the race, Williams said; “This will be my third Tour of Britain and, after coming
close to getting a really good result last year, I’m even more motivated to do well. I love racing
in the UK and going there with three other British riders, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Hopefully it’ll be a good week with the boys.”

Teammate Stewart added; “It’s the first time I’ll have done the race with my trade team as
opposed to a national one, and we’re coming with a really strong squad that can be competitive
across all the stages and the GC, especially with Stevie and Joe.

“I’m going to bring everything I’ve learned from the lead-outs in the Tour de France for the link
up with Ethan. Also, I was so close to a stage win in 2022, so if the opportunity arises it would
be amazing to get my hands up in the air. With the strength of the squad we’ve got it’s going
to be a good week.”

The Bahrain Victorious team will make their race debut, but with a familiar name to British fans
leading them in Wout Poels, who has one a stage on each of his four appearances in the race,
and twice finished as runner-up overall (2015 & 2018). Among his teammates will be Pello
Bilbao, who has five top 10 overall finishes across the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, with
stage wins in both races.

Former Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men winner Julian Alaphilippe joins Evenepoel in the
Soudal Quick-Step team, with the duo will be joined by Bretagne Classic runner-up and
GiroNextGen points jersey winner Paul Magnier, neo-pro Gil Gelders, who recently finished
top ten at the Deutschland Tour, Martin Svrcek, and Gianni Moscon, whose last appearance
in the race in 2019 saw him finish sixth overall.

A quartet of reigning national road race champions join Hayter in displaying their special
jerseys at the race, with Rasmus Pedersen (Denmark, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
Development Team), Markus Hoelgaard (Norway, Uno-X Mobility), Emīls Liepiņš (Latvia,
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Norman Vahtra (Estonia, Van Rysel – Roubaix).

Liepiņš will have hometown hero Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) at his side as
the Tour begins on stage one, with Onley enjoying the distinction of starting his national race
in his hometown of Kelso, while teammate and fellow Scot Sean Flynn, and TRINITY Racing’s
Callum Thornley, from Peebles, will also enjoy home support in the Scottish Borders on day
one.

Adding to INEOS Grenadiers’ South Yorkshire contingent on home roads on day three will be
Saint Piran’s James McKay, who lives in Sheffield where the race starts. Other Brits like him
making their Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men debuts include Joseph Pidcock (TRINITY
Racing), younger brother of Tom, Ben Wiggins (Great Britain Cycling Team), and Ben Askey
(Groupama-FDJ Continental).

Among the other British riders lining up in Scotland will be Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling
Team) and Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who have both won the Best British Rider
prize in the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, in 2019 and 2023 respectively.

“I’m very excited for my home race,” said Donovan. “Last year was great, with Damo [Damien
Howson] and I finishing 3rd and 5th in the GC. This year, I’m aiming to take it a step further,
either by winning the overall or at least securing a podium spot. Winning my home race would
be incredible! The first stages will be tough, likely followed by a few sprint stages towards the
end. As a team, we’re coming in with the ambition to win, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Other riders to look out for include Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), who wore the
mountains jersey at the Tour de France for ten days this summer, Damien Howson (Q36.5
Pro Cycling), who finished third overall in 2023, Jacob Scott (REMBE Pro Cycling Team
Sauerland), a double winner of the King of the Mountains jersey (2019 and 2021) in the race,
and Tour of Austria prologue winner Cameron Rogers (Lidl-Trek Future Racing).

Commenting on the provisional start list, Rod Ellingworth, Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men
Race Director, said; “We are very excited by the line-up of teams and riders who will be on
the start line in Kelso on Tuesday, headlined by our 2024 Paris Olympic Games medallists.

“The publication of the provisional start list adds to the sense of excitement building around
the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, and we now can’t wait to get racing underway, and for
six days of action packed racing for fans to look forward to.”

In total 18 teams, including six that participated in this summer’s Tour de France, from 12
countries will line-up in Scotland for stage one on Tuesday 3 September for a field of 108
riders.

Press Release | Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men 2024
The Scottish Borders stage is followed by legs in the Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, the East
Midlands and West Northamptonshire, before concluding in Suffolk on Sunday 8 September
after six stages of action-packed racing.

Fans wanting to see Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe, and more in action firsthand at the
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men can now book and enjoy a range of premium hospitality
opportunities and experiences, available via Sportive Breaks here.