It is a course with plenty of climbing, including a summit finish. It can really suit Irish rider Eddie Dunbar. His Aqua Blue Sport team mates Conor Dunne and Matt Brammeier will also look to get up the road.
Aqua Blue Sport secures Tour of Britain invite
Irish ProContinental team Aqua Blue Sport will ride the Tour of Britain later in the season. The race unfolds over eight stages from September 2nd.
In the past it has been used by some Irish riders to prepare for the World Road Championships.
This time around there is a TTT; with a climb up the Whinlatter Pass in the 14km test. And the same ascent will play host to a summit finish the following day.
The latter could suit emerging Irish rider Eddie Dunbar. Generally it is a course with plenty of testing climbing thrown in and Dunbar will fancy his chances.
Advertisement
Other top Irish riders Conor Dunne and Matt Brammeier will be expected to get up the road in the breakaways for Aqua Blue Sport.
“This year we have worked hard to create an innovative and unpredictable route, with several surprises in store throughout the race,” said race director Mick Bennett.
“Several stages have stings in the tail; climbs positioned towards the finale of stages 1, 2 and 3 will keep the outcome up in the air until the very end.”
Related News
Aqua Blue Sport has been disappointed at failing to secure invites to many international races this year.
It received a wild card invite to the Vuelta in its maiden season last year. Despite having won a stage it was not invited back for 2018.
The team also failed to secure an invite to the Tour de France, which it was hoping for.
And when Tour owners ASO and Vuelta owners RCS awarded wild cards to the major one-day races they own, the Irish cycling team was left disappointed.
However, there have been no such issues with race organisers in Britain. The team was invited to the Tour de Yorkshire last month.
Eddie Dunbar was 4th on the queen stage and 8th overall. And now a Tour of Britain invite has followed; the British not letting down the only pro cycling team from their close neighbour.
Teams booked in so far
So far 14 teams have been confirmed, with more to follow. Among the WorldTour teams taking part are Dimension Data, EF Education First-Drapac, BMC Racing and QuickStep.
Other squads from the top tier signed up include Katusha-Alpecin, Lotto Soudal, Mitchelton-Scott, Movistar, Team Sky and LottoNL-Jumbo.
As well as Aqua Blue Sport; Direct Energie and Wanty-Groupe Gobert are two other ProContinental teams already confirmed. Team GB will also have a selection in the race.
Topics
