Scotland is set to host two opening stages of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain next month.
Both Glasgow and Dumfries and Galloway will host Stage One of the multi-stage cycling race that launched in 2009.
When does the tour start?
Stage One kicks off on Saturday 7 September, before cyclists move on to the Borders for Stage Two on Sunday 8 September.
The World's top riders will tackle a 125-mile opening leg from Glasgow's George Square to Kirkcudbright in Stage One.
The following day, riders will congregate in Kelso for an entire stage of the race for the first time, with Stage Two and opening and closing in the centre of the market town, with the 103 mile route passing through Coldstream, Duns and Melrose.
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Where do the cyclists ride?
The opening stage will complete a loop of Glasgow city centre before heading south through Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire before crossing into Dumfries and Galloway.
While September 2019 is the ninth occasion that Dumfries and Galloway has welcomed a stage finish of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race, it will be the first time that the event has visited Kirkcudbright.
Having regularly hosted starts and finishes of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain since 2011, the Scottish Borders will host their first complete stage of the race this September, with the entire route of Stage Two within the region.
Starting from Kelso town centre, the leg will complete an anti-clockwise loop via Coldstream, Chirnside and Duns before heading, via the Scott’s View climb, to Melrose and around the Eildon Hills, before a fast run back alongside the River Tweed to the cobbled finish in Kelso.
Kelso hosted the finish of Stage One in 2017, when Caleb Ewan headed home the field in a thrilling finish.
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Where do they go next?
Following the pair of Scottish stages the OVO Energy Tour of Britain will move to the North East of England, with a North of Tyne stage heading from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the city centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne on Monday 9 September.
Stage Four begins from South Shore Road in Gateshead, crossing the Pennines for an uphill finish in Kendal, Cumbria on Tuesday 10 September.
When does the tour finish?
The 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain finishes overall in Manchester city centre on Saturday 14 September.
How can I watch it?
ITV4 will screen live free-to-air coverage of each stage, along with a nightly highlights programme of the best of the action.
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