Sports Mole's Tour of Britain preview

Britain's premier cycling event returns on Sunday with a host of big names lining up to slug it out across the nation's roads. Here, Sports Mole casts an eye over the peloton and picks out some of the main contenders and talking points.

The route

Stages: Eight stages, September 6-13
Distance: 1,511km
Jerseys: Yellow (overall race leader), Blue-and-white (points leader), White-and-green polka dots (King of the Mountains), Green (intermediate sprint points leader)

© Getty Images

The race

Since returning to the cycling calendar in 2004, the Tour of Britain has gone from strength to strength, to the point where it is now the country's largest free-to-watch sporting event, attracting over a million spectators to Britain's roadsides in September.

Last year's race was arguably the best edition since the re-launch 10 years earlier, with Garmin-Sharp's Dylan van Baarle leading home Michal Kwiatkowski and Bradley Wiggins, who would both go on to claim gold medals at the 2014 World Championships just a fortnight later.

This proximity to the World Championships is both a blessing and a curse. While the Vuelta a Espana, the third of cycling's Grand Tours and currently taking place in Spain, is far too punishing an event for any serious World Championship contenders to take part, the Tour of Britain has, historically, offered a more relaxed preparation ride.

However, this year the race organisers have stepped things up. At 1,511km, not only is this the route almost 10% longer than 2014's iteration, it is also significantly hillier, with several long, undulating stages that mirror what the UCI has in store for the Worlds in Richmond, Virginia later this month.

With the Worlds beginning just 10 days after the curtain comes down on the Tour of Britain's final stage in London, though, several riders have decided against risking their form and legs.

There is no shortage of big names in attendance, however, and the route is one that will give them a real test. Beginning in Wales for the first time, the opening stage is a 177km dash across North Wales that should end with a sprint finish in Wrexham.

Stages two and three take in climbs in Lancashire – including the Nick O'Pendle – and Scotland, while stage four should see the first real bunch sprint with its downhill finish into Blyth.

Stage five is the standout of the tour, with several punishing climbs, while stage six is a long, undulating affair through the Peak District that finishes in Nottingham. Stage seven is much flatter and shouldn't cause any real splits, before the procession of the final stage on the streets of London.

The peloton

© Getty Images

The headline news going into the Tour of Britain is the presence of 2012 Tour de France champion Wiggins, who will be competing as the leader of his eponymous team. With no time trial to speak of though, and Wiggins devoting his attention to the track, the 2013 winner isn't likely to feature at the top end of the general classification. Still, his presence is sure to generate plenty of interest.

Instead, the British rider to follow might just be Etixx-QuickStep's Mark Cavendish, who has had a strong season. The Manx Missile would have been disheartened with just a solitary stage win at this year's Tour de France, but he cleaned up at the Dubai Tour in February and at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in March, and was incredibly impressive at both the Tour of Turkey and the Tour of California.

Cavendish would almost be nailed on to add to his 10 Tour of Britain stage wins were it not for the presence of Lotto-Soudal's Andre Greipel. The German sprinter has been the thorn in the side of Cavendish on many occasions, and a showdown between the two would be a highlight of the race.

The overall winner is likely to be an all-rounder who can launch an attack and manage the race on the slower days. Van Baarle has returned to defend his title and should be in the mix, while BMC Racing's Taylor Phinney is in fine form and Jens Debusschere of Lotto-Soudal is a punchy sprinter with the legs for the classics who may do well.

Elsewhere, MTN-Qhubeka's Edvald Boasson Hagen – a two-time Norwegian road race champion – and Movistar's British rider Alex Dowsett have the ability to get among the front runners, and if the weather does what the British weather often does, then Team Sky's Ian Stannard and Etixx QuickStep's Zdenek Stybar are two gritty riders who will fancy their chances.

Keep an eye out for fellow Sky riders Elia Viviani and Ben Swift and Stybar's teammate Matteo Trentin, who will all be queuing up for stage wins if Cavendish and Greipel falter on the sprint finishes too.

© Getty Images

Five talking points

1. The return of Wiggins

Britain's first man of cycling triggers a media circus wherever he goes, and while his days of winning on the road may well be long behind him, expect him to get plenty of screen time over the next eight days. It is, however, an important test for Team Wiggins, who will want a strong showing in their first season as a UCI Continental team.

On paper, the sprint showdown between Cavendish and Greipel should be one of the battles of this year's race, and while it is certainly something to savour, the route doesn't play into either man's hands. With just three real opportunities for the sprinters – on stages one, four and eight – these finishes shouldn't be missed.

This is where the race will probably be won. The category one summit ends a five-mile climb with an average gradient of 5% that reaches 580 metres, and comes at the end of a brutal stage five through the Lake District. With limited opportunities for attacking in the final three stages, the first man over the top will have a great chance of claiming the overall win.

The MTN-Qhubeka rider who lit up the Tour de France with some daring riding in the mountains is on the provisional starting list, but faces a late battle to get a work permit to allow him to ride. As the first African to wear the Grand Tour's polka-dot jersey and a rider of startling unpredictability, Teklehaimanot's absence would be keenly felt.

A sign of the growing reputation of the Tour of Britain, both Team Sky and Etixx-QuickStep have brought remarkably strong teams to this year's event, including Stannard, Swift, Wout Poels, Peter Kennaugh, Cavendish, Stybar, Trentin and Mark Renshaw, who can all create headlines.