GALLERY: Tour of Britain comes to Tameside

OLAV Kooij sprinted to win the opening stage of the Tour of Britain 2023.

Blessed by beautiful sunshine, an estimated 500,000 spectators lined the 163.6-kilometre route from Altrincham.

Cyclists pass through Mottram Cutting. Image by SW Pix

It didn’t take long for riders to take a chance and break clear of the peloton. James Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) escaped within the opening six kilometres, and by the 10-kilometre mark he had company in the form of Harry Tanfield (TDT-Unibet Cycling Team), Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and team-mates Zeb Kyffin and Jack Rootkin-Gray (Saint Piran).

Tanfield took maximum points at the cottages.com sprint at Hazel Grove, before Fouché was first to the summit of the two Pinarello king of the mountains climbs at Grains Bar (second category) and Ramsbottom Rake (first category), which gives him the lead in the competition after stage one.

Mottram Cutting