"In 1888, inventor Frank Bowden founded the Raleigh Bicycle Company, and by 1913, Raleigh was the biggest bicycle manufacturing company in the world. The Raleigh Chopper was named in the list of British design icons. In 1965 Tom Simpson became the first British world road race champion, and in 2012 Bradley Wiggins became the first British Tour de France winner. Chris Froome has subsequently won the Tour de France four times (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017). Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas won in 2018. Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish has won thirty Tour de France stages, putting him second on the all-time"
"2008 Tour of Britain The 2008 Tour of Britain was a UCI 2.1 category race of eight stages from 7 September till 14 September 2008. The race was the fifth edition of the latest version of the Tour of Britain. It formed part of the 2007–2008 UCI Europe Tour. The race begun with a circuit stage in London and ended in Liverpool. The race was won by Geoffroy Lequatre of , whilst both Alessandro Petacchi and Edvald Boasson Hagen won three stages. The 16 teams which participated in the race were: The final stage departed from Blackpool and finished in"
"Liverpool with six laps of a city centre circuit. Alessandro Petacchi took the stage win, his third of the tour, whilst Geoffroy Lequatre finished third to win the general classification. 2008 Tour of Britain The 2008 Tour of Britain was a UCI 2.1 category race of eight stages from 7 September till 14 September 2008. The race was the fifth edition of the latest version of the Tour of Britain. It formed part of the 2007–2008 UCI Europe Tour. The race begun with a circuit stage in London and ended in Liverpool. The race was won by Geoffroy Lequatre of"
"2008, Baden Cooke in 2002, Neil Stephens in 1986, and Russell Mockridge in 1957. The 2004 race was conducted from 14 to 24 October 2004 and involved 85 cyclists in seventeen teams of five. Thirteen stages were completed with a total distance of 1110.7 km, 119 intermediate sprints and 37 hill climbs, including the two category one climbs of Mount Baw Baw and in the Otway Ranges. Swedish rider Jonas Ljungblad won the General classification in the time of 26 h 39 min 55 s. Karl Menzies won the sprint classification and Phillip Thuaux won the Mountains classification. After the"
"Barry Hoban Barry Hoban (born 5 February 1940) is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He formerly held the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 and 1975. He holds the record (now shared with David Millar) for the most Tours completed by a British rider – having finished 11 of the 12 he started between 1965 and 1978. He was also the first Briton to win two consecutive stages of the Tour (a feat matched by Mark Cavendish in"
"This newfound British success continued with Chris Froome winning four of the next five Tours (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), followed by Geraint Thomas taking victory in 2018. In addition to Wiggins, Froome and Thomas, other British riders to enjoy a level of success include Tom Simpson, Barry Hoban, Robert Millar, Chris Boardman, David Millar, Mark Cavendish and Adam and Simon Yates. Britain has had some success in women's cycle racing in producing 4 road racing world champions including Beryl Burton, Mandy Jones, Lizzie Armistead and Nicole Cooke who won the Olympic road race title and the world championship in the"
"before the eventual stage-winning time was recorded. British national champion Alex Dowsett () set the fastest time at each of the intermediate splits, and ultimately recorded a time exactly two minutes quicker than Sergent, in a time of one hour, sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. In his début Grand Tour, Dowsett achieved his first stage victory since the 2011 Tour of Britain, also in an individual time trial. Among the overall contenders, 's Bradley Wiggins was considered as the pre-stage favourite, but was not expected to take the ""maglia rosa"" after losing time the previous day into Pescara. Wiggins caught"
"ten countries won stages during the race; British riders won the largest number of stages, with five. The average age of riders in the race was 29.38 years, ranging from the 21-year-old Anthony Delaplace () to the 39-year-old Jens Voigt (). Of the total average ages, was the youngest team and the oldest. The teams entering the race were: UCI ProTeams UCI Professional Continental teams In the lead-up to the Tour, Alberto Contador, winner of the 2007 and 2009 Tours, () was widely considered as the top pre-race favourite for the general classification. His closest rivals were thought to be"
"British winner, and completed the first clean sweep of Grand Tours by three different riders from the same country combined with Chris Froome's win in the Giro d'Italia and Geraint Thomas' win in the Tour de France. The starting teams include: 2017 champion Chris Froome of Team Sky chose not to defend his title after riding four Grand Tours in a row, winning three of them. Four other former winners started the race; Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde (both from ), Vincenzo Nibali () and Fabio Aru (). The other riders considered contenders for the general classification were Richie Porte (),"
"Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile Team) won the points classification and Johan van Summeren (Davitamon-Lotto) the sprints classification. The 2007 Tour of Britain was extended to seven days, with the extra day being used to run a stage in Somerset for the first time.Instead of finishing in London, the 2007 race started in London and finished in Glasgow, which used the event to boost its bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. French rider Romain Feillu won overall, Mark Cavendish won the points competition and Ben Swift won the mountains competition. The tour increased by yet another day for 2008, with eight"
"stages scheduled, from 7 to 14 September. The race began in London and finished in Liverpool. The sixth edition, the 2009 Tour of Britain, was also raced over eight days, 12–19 September. The race started in Scunthorpe and finished in London. The Prostate Cancer Charity became the official charity partner of the Tour. The 2010 edition of the Tour of Britain was held from 11 to 18 September and was won by Michael Albasini. The 2011 Tour of Britain was held from 11 to 18 September. Stage Two was cancelled due to bad weather. The general classification was won by"
"to the sister of deceased cyclist José María Jiménez who passed away in 2003. Sastre dedicated his 2008 Tour victory to his memory. Source: Carlos Sastre Carlos Sastre Candil (; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France. He consistently achieved great results in the Vuelta a España and equally good showings in the Tour de France. Sastre established himself as a strong and stable climbing specialist, and after working to improve his individual time trial skills, he became a contender for the top GC spots in the"
"Wiggins secured the general classification in the penultimate stage's individual time trial. Froome placed second, one minute and sixteen seconds in arrears, with Sánchez a further 34 seconds behind in third. In the final stage, Cavendish won his fourth consecutive Champs-Élysées stage, to record his third stage win of the race. Wiggins finished the race to become the first British rider to win the Tour de France. Wiggins finished 3 min 21 s clear of compatriot and teammate Froome. Nibali placed third at 6 min 19 s behind Wiggins. Sagan won the points classification with a total of 421, 141"
"common practice of retired racing cyclists. Hoban lives in Mid-Wales after moving there to work with the factory that built his frames. In 2009 he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame. Barry Hoban Barry Hoban (born 5 February 1940) is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He formerly held the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 and 1975. He holds the record (now shared with David Millar) for the most Tours completed by a British rider"
"2008 with the Barloworld team where he finished 4th overall. Froome won the overall title on the final stage on Arthurs Seat, making him the first defending Tour de France champion to win the race, with teammate Peter Kennaugh finishing second. He also took the mountains classification. The 64th edition of the race was won by Damien Howson of . The 65th edition of the Herald Sun Tour was won by Esteban Chaves of the World Tour ranked team. Michelton Scott dominated the general classification of the 2018 edition with team mates Cameron Meyer (2nd) and previous winner Damien Howson"
"out of the Tour after stage 5, as a result of a stomach bug. The tenth edition, the 2013 Tour of Britain, took place from 15 to 22 September, with 8 stages. Sir Bradley Wiggins won. The eleventh edition, the 2014 Tour of Britain, consisted of eight stages between 7 and 14 September. For the first time, it was categorised as a UCI 2.HC race. It began in Liverpool, and finished in London, with two stages in Wales, three in the west of England, and two in the south-east. The race was won by Dylan van Baarle. Tour of Britain"
"Dave Bedwell Dave Bedwell (28 August 1928, Romford, Essex, now the London Borough of Havering – 28 February 1999, Kingskerswell, Devon) was one of Great Britain's most accomplished racing cyclists in the 1950s, known as the ""Iron Man"" of cycling. He won four stages in the first Tour of Britain, rode for Britain in the world professional road championship in 1953 and 1956 and rode for Britain in the Tour de France. Bedwell, who was tall, lived on the outskirts of London, in Romford, now part of Havering. His family were cyclists but Bedwell was more interested in swimming. He"
"he lost 20 pounds (9.07 kg) and his weight loss has allowed him to ""thrive on the bike, especially in the mountains"". Froome uses special non-round chainrings. Source: Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (born 20 May 1985) is a British road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . He is the reigning Giro d'Italia champion. Considered by many as one of the greatest stage racing cyclists of all time and possibly the greatest of his generation, he is one of the most successful riders in the history of the Tour de France, having won it four times – in 2013, 2015,"
"Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (born 20 May 1985) is a British road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . He is the reigning Giro d'Italia champion. Considered by many as one of the greatest stage racing cyclists of all time and possibly the greatest of his generation, he is one of the most successful riders in the history of the Tour de France, having won it four times – in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, with a further two podium appearances in 2012 and 2018. After initially being seen as a climbing specialist, Froome has developed as an all-rounder with"
"won the overall race, Mark Cavendish won the Points competition and Ben Swift won the Mountains competition. The tour started with a 2.5 km prologue time trial at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The leader's yellow jersey was claimed by Britain's Mark Cavendish in a time of two minutes 27.6 seconds, ahead of two Russian riders. As a result, Cavendish was the first British rider to take yellow since the Tour of Britain resumed in 2004. The result was debated as the electronic timing system did not turn up and the timing was thus completed with basic stopwatches. Prologue"
"any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events. 2004 Tour de France The 2004 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 91st edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced in August 2012 that they had disqualified Armstrong from all his results since 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005; the Union Cycliste Internationale confirmed this verdict. The event consisted of 20 stages"
"David Millar David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish former professional road racing cyclist. He spent much of his career at two teams, Cofidis from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin-Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the Tour de France, five of the Vuelta a España and one stage of the Giro d'Italia. He was the British national road champion and the national time trial champion, both in 2007. He is the only British rider to have worn all Tour de France jerseys and one of nine to have worn the yellow jersey as"
"completed by former Vuelta a España winner Vincenzo Nibali, riding for the team, who was the only other rider to finish within 10 minutes of Wiggins' final overall time. Only Wiggins' team-mate Mark Cavendish was able to win more than one stage during the second half of the race, winning two of the final three stages including a fourth consecutive final stage victory in Paris. This victory allowed him to become the most prolific sprinter at the Tour de France with 23 stage victories, surpassing the record of 22 which had been held for 48 years by France's André Darrigade."
"100,000 spectators saw a long break by Bradley Wiggins last until the penultimate lap, before Enrico Degano of Team Barloworld took the sprint on the line. The Colombian Mauricio Ardila, of Chocolade Jacques, won the General Classification. The 2005 race was run as a UCI 2.1 category in six stages starting in Glasgow on 30 August and finishing in London on 4 September. The 2006 Tour of Britain took place from 29 August to 3 September as a UCI category 2.1 event. Martin Pedersen and Andy Schleck of Team CSC won the overall and King of the Mountains classification, respectively."
"Thomas' teammate and four-time Tour champion Chris Froome coming third. The opening stage was won by Fernando Gaviria of , who became the Tour's first rider to wear the general classification leader's yellow jersey. Peter Sagan () then took the race lead the following stage. won stage three's team time trial, putting their rider Greg Van Avermaet in yellow. He held the jersey for eight days until the second high mountain stage, where stage winner Thomas took the lead. He held it for the rest of the race to become the first Welshman to win the overall race. As a"
"the closing stages and Mark Renshaw led Mark Cavendish – only racing in the Tour with special dispensation from the Union Cycliste Internationale after his stage 4 exit from the Vuelta a España – out to claim the stage victory, his first in the race since 2007. The stage victory gave Cavendish the lead in the general classification, and also the points classification, from points gained at the finish. Renshaw finished just behind Cavendish, with 's Theo Bos completing the top three placings. Prior to the start of the stage, race organisers cancelled the stage on police advice due to"
"France. In winning the third stage, he became the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row. Cavendish's win on stage eleven enabled him to reclaim the green jersey from rival Thor Hushovd of , and equalled Barry Hoban's British record of eight stage wins. Winning stage nineteen, Cavendish set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider. In winning the last stage, he led home a one–two for his team, when his team-mate and leadout man, Renshaw, finished second on the Champs-Élysées. Following on from the Tour de France,"
"wear the Tour's yellow jersey. He later crashed in that race, as well as the 2017 Giro d'Italia, before winning the 2018 Tour de France. He gained the yellow jersey by winning stage 11, extended his lead by winning stage 12, and retained the lead for the remainder of the event. He became the first Welshman, and the third cyclist from the United Kingdom after Wiggins and Froome, to win the Tour. In 2018 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Born in Birchgrove, Cardiff, Wales, Thomas attended Whitchurch High School. He began cycling with the Maindy"
"Liam Killeen Liam Killeen (born 12 April 1982), is a British professional mountain biker. He represented England in cross country racing at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 where he came 3rd, and became Commonwealth Champion in 2006. He has won the British Mountain Biking National Champion over five consecutive years; 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. He competed for Great Britain at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics and was chosen as the sole male cross-country rider for the British team for the London Games in 2012. Killeen had been interested in cycling from a young age, but a trip"
"Vin Denson Vincent Denson (born 24 November 1935) is a former professional racing cyclist who rode the Tour de France, won a stage of the Giro d'Italia and won the Tour of Luxembourg in the 1960s. He was a team-mate of Rik Van Looy and of Jacques Anquetil and, in the Tour de France, of Tom Simpson. He was the first British rider to win a stage of the Giro, before finishing 40th overall. Denson was born in Chester, England. He had his first bike at 12, a black Hercules Falcon borrowed from his brother and with wooden blocks fitted"
"Philippa York Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists of all time. York won the ""King of the Mountains"" competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall. This success was the first time a British rider won a major Tour classification, and was unsurpassed as the highest Tour finish for a Briton for over 20 years until Bradley Wiggins was retrospectively placed third in the 2009 Tour de France. York rode the"
"the stage win and yellow jersey, attacking on Sheffield's hilly terrain with remaining. Peter Sagan took the green jersey and Cyril Lemoine () took the polka dot jersey. Stages three and four, finishing in London and Lille respectively, ended in bunch sprints and were both won by Kittel. Crashes in stages four and five forced pre-race favourite Chris Froome to abandon the race; his injuries were later revealed to be fractures to his left wrist and right hand. The weather was wet throughout the fifth stage, with the sett paving causing many crashes (not Froome's). The fractured ending was won"
"as Mollema, ensuring Froome would hold on to his first overall position. Superb performances in both the individual time trials (second on stage 13 to La Caverne du Pont-d'Arc and winner of stage 18 to Megève) allowed Froome to gain even more time on his rivals, and despite a crash on stage 19 to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains where he finished the stage on Thomas' bike with support from Wout Poels, it was enough for him to win the race overall 4:05 ahead of second-placed Romain Bardet, becoming the first British rider to win the Tour on three occasions, the fourth rider to"