When is the Tour of Britain 2021 and where is the Grand Depart?
Get our ultimate guide on things to do with CornwallLive's FREE What's On newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign me up! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  After being postponed in 2020, the 17th edition of the UK's most prestigious and longest-running international cycle race - The Tour of Britain - is back. And, for 2021, Cornwall will host the race for the first time ever as the 2021 Grand Depart will see the world's best riders tackle a stage from Penzance to Bodmin. What's more, Cornwall will even be entering its own first-ever international cycling team - Saint Piran, who will be dressed in black jerseys adorned with the Cornish flag. Read more: Devon and Cornwall: What to expect from the new series of the Channel 4 show  The race will then even return to Devon, where a stage from the new town of Sherford will take riders to Exeter - the city which hosted a stage finish in the 2014 Tour. In total, these teams of cyclists will have to take on eight gruelling stages which will take them all the way up to the furthest point ever in the race's history - Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. You can stay up to date on the top news and events near you with CornwallLives FREE newsletters  enter your email address at the top of the page or go here. A brief history of the event  The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race which takes place on British roads and sees participants race across Great Britain to try and complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates right back to the first British stage races held just after the Second World War and, since then, various other events have been dubbed the 'Tour of Britain' - including the Milk Race, Kellogg's Tour of Britain and the PruTour. However, the current version of the Tour of Britain began in 2004 as part of the UCI Europe Tour. As of 2014, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), which is the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, has classified this race on a rating scale of '2.HC'. The race became part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020 (the second tier men's elite road cycling tour). The Tour of Britain was scheduled to take place between September 6 and 13, 2020, and was due to start with its first Cornwall Grand Depart. Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen were set to host the final stage, which would have marked the farthest point north the race would ever have visited. However, in May 2020, it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The confirmed dates for the 2021 Tour of Britain, which will, this year, finally be a part of the UCI ProSeries, are September 5 to 12. Which route will riders be taking this year - a detailed look at each stage of the race  It has already been revealed that this year's race will use the same route originally planned for 2020, which takes riders from Penzance all the way up to Aberdeen. Details of the eight stages of the race have not yet been finalised but, so far, look like this:  Stage One - September 5, 2021  Start: Penzance  Finish: Bodmin  Distance: 180km  Stage Two - September 6  Start: Sherford  Finish: Exeter  Distance: 185km  Stage Three - September 7  Start: Wales  Finish: Wales  Distance: TBA  Stage Four - September 8  Start: Wales  Finish: Wales  Distance: TBA  Stage Five - September 9  Start: Cheshire  Finish: Warrington  Distance: TBA  Stage Six - September 10  Start: Cumbria  Finish: Gateshead  Distance: TBA  Stage Seven - September 11  Start: Hawick  Finish: Edinburgh  Distance: TBA  Stage Eight - September 12  Start: Stonehaven  Finish: Aberdeen  Distance: TBA  Read more:  Alternative stag and hen do ideas in Cornwall now that not all restrictions will be lifted  Father's Day 2021 ideas and activities in Cornwall