Tour of Britain 2022: When does it reach Sunderland and what route will it take?

The nation’s answer to the world’s most famous cycling race is back this summer and the Tour of Britain is heading to Sunderland as an end-of-stage location, but how big is the event and what route will competitors take to get into the city?

What is the Tour of Britain?

The Tour of Britain is an annual race which sees cyclists take part in numerous stages across the country.

These stages are different to the Tour Series cycling events which have also been hosted by the city over the last two years due to their separate start and finish positions, whereas the Tour Series used loop circuits.

When is the 2022 Tour of Britain and when is it coming to the North East?

The 2022 edition of the race starts on Sunday, September 4 in Aberdeen where racers will make a 181km journey through Scotland.

Sunderland will be hosting racers on the third day of the event on Tuesday, September 6. The stage will start in Durham before heading west into the North Pennines and looping back via Barnard Castle and Spennymoor towards Wearside.

Which route will the 2022 Tour of Britain take through Sunderland?

After working their way through County Durham, the racers and their teams will head north, going through Coxhoe and going east around West Rainton. From here they will head towards Hetton-le-Hole on Moorsley Road before taking a left up the B1284.

This route will see cyclists head underneath the A690 and past Rainton Arena before taking a right onto Sedgefield Road towards Newbottle. From here they will take a left and head north on Philadelphia Lane and eventually getting onto the B1286 which they will follow before joining with the A690 at Middle Herrington.

This road will be used to get into the city centre before a route taking up Thornholme Road, Belvedere Road and the A1231 will get the cyclists to Mowbray Park.

After a small diversion east on Borough Road, the stage will end loop around Sunniside and past the Wearmouth Bridge before finishing outside the new City Hall.

Racers are expected to reach the end of the stage at approximately 3pm.