Belgian star Wout Van Aert to make Tour of Britain debut in 2021

Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallist and six-time Tour de France stage winner Wout Van Aert will make his Tour of Britain debut next month. 

The Belgian star is the second rider confirmed for this year’s Tour, which starts in Penzance, Cornwall, on Sunday 5 September and will race into Devon the following day (Monday 6 September). 

Van Aert will lead the Dutch Jumbo-Visma team at the UK’s biggest cycle race off the back of winning the prestigious final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées in Paris and claiming silver in the Tokyo 2020 road race within the space of six days last month.

The 26-year-old already possesses a decorated palmàres, having won the prestigious Milan-Sanremo, Strade Bianche, Gent-Wevelgem and Amstel Gold one-day races, as well as three UCI world cyclo-cross titles. 

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for cycling, said: “Wout Van Aert is one of cycling’s biggest stars and confirmation that he will be making his Tour of Britain debut, in what has already been a successful year for him, is a fantastic coup for the race. Along with the inclusion of Mark Cavendish we’re facing an exciting prospect for this year’s Tour. Hopefully it will encourage people to turn out and will provide a real boost for local businesses.”

His participation in the Tour of Britain reiterates Team Jumbo-Visma’s support of the race. In recent years, the world’s number three-ranked team has selected the likes of Primoź Roglič (runner up in 2018, two-time Grand Tour winner and Tokyo 2020 time trial gold medallist), Tom Dumoulin (third place in 2016 and Tokyo 2020 time trial silver medallist), Dylan Groenewegen (four-time Tour de France stage winner) to compete in the event. The remainder of their six-man squad for the Tour of Britain will be announced in due course. 

The Tour of Britain is shown live and in full on ITV4, as well as in over 150 countries around the world.