The Tour – Devon looks forward to 10th anniversary by looking back

With around a month to go to the Devon Stage of the 10th anniversary Tour of Britain on Friday 20 September, Devon County Council is looking back at its involvement in previous editions of The Tour, while looking forward to welcoming Britain’s premier cycle race for a seventh time.

The Tour made its first foray into Devon in 2007 when the race crossed briefly into the county from Somerset, descending into Lynmouth and then tackling a King of the Mountains climb to Watersmeet, before returning to Somerset via Exmoor and onto the finish in Taunton.

Since then, Devon’s involvement has grown year on year, featuring again in 2008 as part of a stage which started and finished in Somerset, co-hosting two South West Stages with Somerset County Council in both 2009 and again in 2010, before a Devon only Stage became a regular fixture from 2011.

Over the years that The Tour has come to Devon it has covered more than 600 miles of the county’s roads, been watched by around 750,000 people along the various Stage routes – and that figure could top a million after this year’s Stage. It has also brought in more than £21 million to the local economy and been watched on TV by millions of people in more than 130 countries.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “The Tour is 10 years old and it has given us some great memories in Devon during the seven years that the County Council has been involved. It has raced through a lot of Devon in that time, highlighting that we are a genuine cycling county, while also providing the county with more than £21 million for the local economy.

“Over the years spectators in Devon have had the chance to see the best riders in the world, including Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, on our local roads. And it was the icing on the cake for a Devon rider to win last year when Jon Tiernan Locke won the IG Gold Jersey. The Tour has really established itself over the past 10 years and I’m delighted that Devon has been a part of that. No doubt this year’s Tour will provide us with many more special moments and we hope the Devon Stage will be a fitting celebration for this 10th anniversary Tour.”

Here are 7 highlights from Devon’s involvement in The Tour of Britain over the years.

2008 – Chard to Burnham on Sea
Three of Great Britain’s Gold medal winning Olympians from Beijing (Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Chris Newton) took part in the 2008 Tour. Although the Stage started and finished in Somerset, the riders passed through Tiverton, South Molton and a gruelling King of the Mountains climb at North Molton, before heading onto Exmoor and onto the finish in Burnham-on-Sea.

2009 – Frome to Bideford
Some of the largest crowds of The 2009 Tour were in Bideford to witness a formidable sprint victory by Edvald Boasson Hagen, then racing for Team Columbia-HTC before his move to Team Sky. It was an incredible fourth stage win of that year’s race for the Norwegian on his way to winning the race overall. Due to his attacking in the break on Dartmoor, Thomas De Gendt secured the King of the Mountains Jersey with two stages remaining in the race.

2009 – Hatherleigh to Yeovil
Anyone who was at the start at Hatherleigh will remember the giant bicycle – billed as the ‘biggest bike in the smallest town’ – which featured in the carnival procession before the pro riders rolled out of the market town. The then British Champion Kristian House led a breakaway group through Mid and East Devon as they tried to escape the peloton, but it was another Brit who took the honours on the day. The carnival atmosphere which had begun at the start was matched by jubilant scenes at the finish in Yeovil as Ben Swift, who was 21 at the time and riding for Team Katusha, took his first professional victory to became the first British stage winner in The Tour since 2007. Swift is another rider now racing for Team Sky.

2010 – Minehead to Teignmouth
The race returned to the South West for one of the toughest Stages of the 2010 Tour. Dan Martin, who won a stage of Le Tour de France 2013 for his Garmin Sharp team, continually attacked in search of the stage win, but although his bravery earned him the award for the most combative rider of the Stage, it was Wout Poels, of Vacansoleil, who eventually broke away to cross the line alone in Teignmouth.

2010 – Tavistock to Glastonbury
In Team Sky’s debut season, Bradley Wiggins was among the breakaway group of riders as the raced crossed the Somerset Levels, having already taken in Dartmoor along the way. Dan Martin also starred again on the Stage with another attacking display, but it was Marco Frapporti of Colnago – CSF Inox who took the win in Glastonbury, with Wiggins seconds behind.

2011 – Exeter to Exmouth
Clear blue skies and huge crowds welcomed The Tour to Devon at both the start, outside Exeter Cathedral and at the finish on Exmouth seafront. Devon rider Jonathan Tiernan Locke came to the fore with an impressive ride across Dartmoor, taking a clean sweep of all three Skoda King of the Mountains climbs at Haytor, Coffin Stone and Huccaby Tor, setting him on his way to taking the Skoda King of the Mountains Jersey which he eventually won overall. But the peloton came together at the end for a Sprint finish in front of packed crowds on Exmouth’s esplanade, as Mark Renshaw took victory after being led out by his teammate Mark Cavendish, in what appeared to be a thank you gesture from the British sprinter.

2012 – Barnstaple to Dartmouth
Record crowds of more than 220,000 lined the route from Barnstaple to Dartmouth to see Devon rider Jon Tiernan Locke racing in the IG Gold Jersey.
Two time Giro D’Italia winner Ivan Basso and former Olympic Road Race Champion Samuel Sanchez were among an elite breakaway group, but it was Sanchez’s teammate Pablo Urtasun who took the stage win in front of an estimated 50,000 fans who had packed out Dartmouth on a gloriously sunny day in Devon. Jonathan Tiernan Locke held onto the race lead in front of his home crowd, and the following day became the first Briton to win the Tour overall – securing his move to Team Sky.

For more information on The Tour of Britain, visit: www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk and on Twitter follow @SWTourofBritain.