Tour of Britain 2026 - Stage Two (Louth)

TOUR OF BRITAIN 2026 - STAGE TWO

The return of peace in 1945 following WWII had found British racing cyclists still limited to race track racing and time-trialling, under the terms of the National Cyclists’ Union ban imposed in 1890. To a younger generation of riders, isolated from development on the Continent, the situation seemed intolerable. They formed the British League of Racing Cyclists and campaigned vigorously for the return of road racing in Britain.

A number of ‘illegal’ events took place during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. The major breakthrough came in 1951 when the Daily Express newspaper group agreed to sponsor the ‘Tour of Britain’ with road racing eventually becoming legal again. The British Cycling Federation formed in 1959 to organise both road and tack racing.

Renamed the Milk Race in 1958, when the Milk Marketing board took over the sponsorship, this event has become the British equivalent of the Tour de France. The Milk Race (1958-1993) was later sponsored by Kellogg’s, the race by now including professional teams, having originally been an all-amateur event.

This year the ‘Lloyds’ Tour of Britain Stages One and Two were entirely within Lincolnshire (having visited North Lincolnshire back in 2017) and for the first time ever, passed through Louth on 3rd September!