Teams announced for Tour of Britain

The Friends Life Tour of Britain has today (13 August) announced its biggest ever line-up of teams for next month’s race.

It has been confirmed that a record 120 riders from 20 squads will be competing for the Friends Life Yellow Jersey.

Devon County Council will host Stage Five of the race on Thursday 11 September. Starting at The Strand in Exmouth and finishing in Exeter High Street, the Devon Stage, sponsored by South West Highways Ltd, will cover 110miles (177km) of the county.

Among the field are 10 teams who raced in last month's Tour de France, including Team Sky, who won the 2013 Tour of Britain with Sir Bradley Wiggins. According to his team, Wiggins is in contention to defend his title this September.

The team currently ranked number one in the world, Movistar Team, will also be competing. In all, six of the world's top ten teams will be participating - this includes Tinkoff Saxo, Omega Pharma Quick-Step, Belkin Pro Cycling, and BMC Racing Team.

Among the domestic teams will be Pearl Izumi Tour Series Champions Rapha Condor JLT. They will be joined by Madison Genesis, Team Raleigh, Giordana Racing Team, AN Post Chain Reaction, the Great Britain national team, and NFTO Pro Cycling, who will be making their Tour of Britain debut.

Also making their debut appearance at The Friends Life Tour of Britain will be UCI Pro Continental squad Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetic professional cycling team. Other top tier UCI Pro Teams taking part will be Garmin Sharp and Team Giant Shimano.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for cycling, said: “This is set to be another successful year of the Friends Life Tour of Britain and I’m delighted that Devon will be hosting a stage. Britain’s premier cycling race gets bigger every year and spectators in Devon will be treated to seeing more top teams and riders than ever before. With the race going the long way round from Exmouth to Exeter, there will be plenty of opportunity for people along the route to see these world class cyclists in action, while enjoying a day out in Devon.”

Race Director Mick Bennett said: "Every year we get a very positive response from teams wishing to ride the Friends Life Tour of Britain and this year that has been even more so. Not only do we have a very strong line-up of teams, half of whom raced in the Tour de France, we are confident that they will be bringing their best possible squads, meaning fans can look forward to seeing the world's top riders, some exciting racing and maybe a few surprises this September.”

The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain will start in Liverpool on Sunday 7 September and finish in London with an individual time trial and a circuit race on Sunday 14 September.

The Devon Stage includes SKODA King of the Mountains climbs at Mamhead, Haytor, and Stoke Woods/Pennsylvania Road on the outskirts of Exeter. There are also YodelDirect Sprints at Powderham, Chudleigh and Crediton.

For more information visit www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk. On Twitter follow @SWTourofBritain or like our SW Tour on Britain Facebook page.

The complete list of teams that will be competing in the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain is as follows:

UCI Pro Teams
Belkin Pro Cycling (NED)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Garmin Sharp (USA)
Movistar Team (SPA)
Omega Pharma Quick-Step (BEL)
Team Giant Shimano (NED)
Team Sky (GBR)
Tinkoff Saxo (RUS)

UCI Pro Continental Teams
Bardiani CSF (ITA)
IAM Cycling (SWI)
MTN Qhubeka (RSA)
Team NetApp Endura (Ger)
Team Novo Nordisk (USA)

UCI Continental Teams
AN Post Chain Reaction (IRL)
Madison Genesis (GBR)
NFTO Pro Cycling (GBR)
Giordana Racing Team (GBR)
Rapha Condor JLT (GBR)
Team Raleigh (GBR)

National Teams
Great Britain (GBR)