Stage 5 – 6th September: Cockermouth to Whinlatter (Team Time Trial)
Not a keen follower of cycling, but when it was announced that the Tour Of Britain would be coming to Cockermouth, twice, as part of the 2018 Tour, a keen interest in sporting events kicked in.
Come the day, I realised that I had no idea from where to watch. Too much choice. After wandering around Main Street amid the team cars, spare bikes and media, I settled down near the start but missed all the practice starts and warm ups. However, an hour’s wait provided the opportunity to create a plan.
Team JLT Condor start the Team Time Trial off
Pictures of all 20 teams from the same spot would be uninteresting. So I ended up watching the first couple of teams make their starts, then started walking. By the time the last team ‘overtook’ me, I had completed the first 4km of the course stopping every 3 minutes to watch and capture each team with a different backdrop. The walk took me out of Cockermouth into the countryside on the way towards Lorton and Whinlatter.
For me, as a novice spectator, the one problem with road cycling is that it is almost impossible to know who each rider was in each team (as their numbers were small and hardly visible due to aerodynamics, no doubt).
However, the Team Time Trial concept proved to be absolute classic entertainment. Rather than watch 100 bikes pass in one swoop (more of that later). Lucky for me as it was a first time such a stage had been in the Tour of Britain.
Stage 6 – 7th September: Barrow to Whinlatter
Day two provided a similar question: Where to go? Decided in the end to drive Loweswater and walk up Fangs Brow (talk about steep in parts) for the end of the King of the Mountains section. Great views of Mellbreak and Low Fell (where we regularly walk) even of Scotland. Just had to stake a claim to a spot and the usual hour to wait.
Connor Swift, Tony Martin, James Shaw and Vasil Kiryienka broke away early in the day and still led on Fangs Brow. But after that Matthew Holmes followed by Nic Dlamini and George Pym but the peloton was otherwise complete (no-one off the back) and the spectacle was over far too swiftly. And that is the problem with ‘normal’ stages, almost a case of blink and they are gone. Team Time Trails win everyday!
The Breakaway Four; Connor Swift, Tony Martin (hiding James Shaw) and Vasil Kiryienka
James Shaw (Lotto Soudal) on the wheel of Vasil Kiryienka (Sky)
Nic Dlamini; King of Mountains Leader ahead of George Pym
I Was There 