Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 1: Glasgow - Kirkcudbright

Saturday 7 September - The Tour of Britain begins with the longest race. At 201.5 kilometres, the route runs from Glasgow to a likely sprint finish in Kirkcudbright. Or are we going see a successful late attack?

It is a first for Kirkcudbright as the harbour town on the Solway coast never hosted the Tour of Britain before. The opening leg sets off from George Square in Glasgow though. After a lap in the city centre the riders head south through Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire.

The route includes three KOM ascents. The 2.7 kilometres climb on Lambdoughty Hill is crested around halfway, while the 5 kilometres drag to Dalmellington is crested just before crossing into Dumfries & Galloway with almost 90 kilometres to go. So these uphills won’t have any lasting effect.

The Bankhead hill is something else though. Placed 15.5 kilometres before the finish, it could provide a launch pad for a late attack. The route does not descend into Kirkcudbright straight away. Another short kick up leads to a rolling section and, eventually, a technical descent. The last 2 kilometres are played out on the flat.

The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprints (at kilometre 43.6, at kilometre 112.5, and at kilometre 128.7) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.

Another interesting read: results/race report 1st stage 2019 Tour of Britain.