First teams announced for the Tour of Britain 2022

All four of Britain's male UCI Continental Teams and a Great Britain national squad have today been unveiled as the first confirmed squads for the Tour of Britain 2022 (Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 September).

Wiv SunGod will compete in their national tour for the fifth edition running, while Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, Saint Piran and TRINITY Racing return having all made their race debuts in 2021.

The Great Britain Cycling Team - who have ridden 14 of the 17 modern Tours to date, including every edition since 2012 - complete today's team announcement.

Tour of Britain organiser SweetSpot and British Cycling have issued invites to the quartet of UCI Continental teams in recognition of the challenging sponsorship climate that they continue to face.

This year's race begins in Aberdeen on Sunday 4 September and culminates with a first-ever visit to the Isle of Wight a week later. Details of the UCI World and Pro Teams competing in this year's race will be announced in July.

Hampshire-based Wiv SunGod have enjoyed significant success at the Tour since their first participation in 2017, most notably winning both the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and sprints jerseys last year with Jake Scott. Their 16-man roster also includes newly-crowned Irish road race champion Rory Townsend, as well as Matt Bostock, who won the British circuit race championships in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, last Friday.

Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling impressed on their Tour of Britain debut in 2021, recording four top-10 stage finishes and having the highest overall finisher - James Shaw - of the domestic teams. Six of their 16-rider squad could potentially get to race on home roads in this year's race. Most notably, siblings and Commonwealth Games 2018 medallists Charlie and Harry Tanfield, are from the North Yorkshire village of Great Ayton, which is raced through on stage four. Additionally, Stuart Balfour hails from the Scottish Borders, where stage two takes place (Hawick to Duns, Monday 5 September). Ollie Peckover and Ross Lamb are both from Nottinghamshire, host county for stage five (West Bridgford to Mansfield, Thursday 8 September), while selection would allow for Will Brown to race through his home town of Whitby on day four.

Also returning for a second-year running are Saint Piran, Cornwall's first elite cycling team. Their roster was bolstered for 2022 by the arrival of sprinter Gabz Cullaigh, who has recorded three top-10 stage finishes in the Tour, most recently on the final day of last year's race in Aberdeen. New signing Alex Richardson will make his debut for the team this week having been pipped to the British road race title by cycling legend Mark Cavendish in Castle Douglas, Scotland, on Sunday.

TRINITY Racing have quickly become one of the most-respected development teams in world cycling, with the performances of then-Irish road race champion Ben Healy in last year's race helping him move up to UCI WorldTeam level with EF Education - EasyPost for 2022. The team's roster includes Californian rider Luke Lamperti, who successfully defended his American circuit race title in Tennessee last week and finished fourth in Warrington on stage five in 2021.

The involvement of a Great Britain national team allows future stars to gain invaluable experience in one of the world's leading races. Among those who have lined up in the race in home colours are 2021 Giro d'Italia champion Tao Geoghegan Hart, 2018 Vuelta a Espana victor Simon Yates and Grand Tour stage winner Hugh Carthy.

Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain race director, said: "We're delighted to unveil the first teams who will be competing in this year's Tour of Britain. As we look forward to one of the hardest editions of the modern Tour of Britain to date, we feel proud and honoured that the strength of cycling in Britain means that we can field four home UCI-registered teams in the race. We feel that giving them confirmation of their selection at this point in the season will allow them time to prepare fully for the event and therefore show off their prowess to a worldwide audience."

Tim Elverson, Wiv SunGod team owner, said: "Wiv SunGod are super excited to be invited back to the Tour of Britain, which is one of the pinnacle races on any team's calendar. Having won a jersey in every edition of the race since 2018, we plan to be ready to attack from kilometer zero!"

Jack Rees, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling director of operations, said: "There is something very special about riding in your national tour. It's a great honour to line up on the startline again this year with the Ribble Weldtite squad. We intend to show the Tour of Britain the respect it deserves and aim to display our colours throughout this prestigious event. Our thanks go to SweetSpot for their continued support of Britain's UCI Continental teams."

Steve Lampier, Saint Piran directeur sportif said: "I'm over the moon that we've been given the opportunity to line up in this year's Tour of Britain, the second in the team's short history. We will be righting some wrongs from last year's race and showing everybody that we deserve to be in the event."

Ian Stannard, TRINITY Racing directeur sportif, said: "The Tour of Britain is an extra special event and, as a British development team, the riders have an added affinity to the Tour. Added to that the buzz of racing on home roads with home crowds cheering us on is an incredibly exciting prospect. We also see the event as an excellent opportunity for our riders to test themselves against the WorldTour riders and the chance to showcase their ability on a big stage."

This year's Tour of Britain (Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 September) will see over 100 of the world's best riders race from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight in what promises to be another memorable edition of this country's flagship cycling event.

Race fans can get closer to the event than ever before in 2022 owing to our enhanced range of hospitality and experience packages. Whether you want to watch the finish of a stage from the best seat in the house or ride alongside our new race ambassador Dan Martin, our partners Sportsbreaks.com and Destination Sport Experiences have got you covered! Visit sportsbreaks.com and destinationsportexperiences.com for more information.

ITV4 will continue to broadcast live flag-to-flag coverage of every stage and nightly highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch wherever they are. The race will also be shown in over 150 countries worldwide, thanks to the event's partnerships with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network.

Last year's star-studded race was won by Belgian rider Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo - Visma), with reigning world road race champion Julian Alaphilippe finishing third overall. According to research by Frontline, a roadside crowd of over one million spectators resulted in the Tour of Britain generating £29.96m of net economic benefit for the UK economy.