Further details of what promises to be a stunning edition of the Tour of Britain in September have today been revealed, including the locations of the race’s Carlisle stage.

The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time.

The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the Second World War, since then various different events have been described as the Tour of Britain, including the Milk Race, and the Kellogg's Tour of Britain.

Rescheduled to 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 17th edition of the UK’s most prestigious stage race (Sunday 5-12 September) includes a route from Carlisle to Gateshead.

Twelve of the start and finish host venues are new to the eight-day event, which will cover 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) of racing.

The race will go ahead subject to local conditions and in line with relevant national guidelines and UCI protocols.

Stage six from Carlisle to Gateshead will retrace large parts of the popular Sea to Sea route before finishing in the shadow of the world-famous Angel of the North.

Carlisle welcomes the race for the fifth time in modern Tour history – all of which have been stage starts.

The route passes alongside Ullswater in the Lake District National Park and through Penrith before tackling the SKODA King of the Mountains climb at Hartside, which was used as a stage finish in the 2015 Tour.

Two further ŠKODA King of the Mountains climbs follow soon after in the heart of the North Pennines AONB – at Killhope Cross and Burtree Fell – as part of the 3,000 metres of elevation gain that features in this stage.

Although Gateshead has previously hosted two stage finishes of the race, this will be the first to culminate alongside Sir Antony Gormley’s famed sculpture.