A few years ago, Deansgate in the heart of Manchester city centre was the scene of a Mathieu van der Poel victory. The recently crowned World Champion both clinched the stage win and the overall Tour of Britain title in 2019. That stage also set off from Altrincham and the route was virtually similar.
The route goes from Altrincham to Manchester in an anti-clockwise direction. Along the way the riders tackle the climbs up Werneth Low (2 kilometres at 8%), Grains Bar (7.7 kilometre 5.2%) and the Ramsbottom Rake (2.1 kilometres at 9.1%) before it levels out in the last 40 kilometres. The race then enters Manchester from the west.
The 2019 of the Altrincham/Manchester race culminated in a reduced bunch sprint won by Mathieu van der Poel. It was a close finish with his compatriot Cees Bol finishing in second, while Matteo Trentin crossed the line in third.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 1.
Another interesting read: results 1st stage 2023 Tour of Britain.
Tour of Britain 2023 – stage 1: route, profile, more
Click on the images to zoom
