The Tour of Britain, the biggest cycling race in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe, is back for 2023 and this year the international sporting event will be starting in Altrincham.
With the Altrincham hosting the start line for the second time in the competition’s 73-year history, the Tour of Britain and its massive crowds will be treated to some proper Manc hospitality and be able to watch the riders get underway from one of the best places to live anywhere in the UK.
The opening stage begins in Trafford’s beloved market town on Sunday, 3 September, and although the final section began there back in 2019, this is the first time the Grand Départ has taken place in Alty since the event restarted and the modern era began in 2004.
It’s going to be a special one.
This year's Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 will begin in the award-winning market town of Altrincham on Sunday 3 September.#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪
— Lloyds Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) July 27, 2023
The peloton will roll out from Market Street close to the famous Altrincham Market right in the heart of the town centre, which is so loved by locals and tourists alike that it won the Great British High Street Award for England in 2018.
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Although the distance of each section is yet to be confirmed, the opening stage is expected to last approximately 166km if the last time out is anything to go by and will finish along Deansgate in the heart of Manchester city centre, where Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel won in 2019.
In case you were unaware of just how massive this event is, that year there was an estimated 600,000 spectators watching roadside across Greater Manchester — the biggest single-day crowd in race history. Here are some of the highlights if you fancy getting yourself in the mood for race day:
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The opening stage route will see riders cycle through Altrincham, Hazel Grove in Stockport, Grains Bar in Oldham, Ramsbottom Rake in Bury and then finally Deansgate.
Speaking on the announcement, Altrincham’s Business Improvement District Manager, Mandy White, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the Tour of Britain is returning to Altrincham for the Grand Départ Sunday, 3 September. It’s fantastic for the town to host such a high-profile, international sporting event and we look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to Altrincham.”
It’s obviously totally free to turn up and watch but race fans can also enhance their race day experience by watching the starting gun from Altrincham’s Sportsbreaks.com terrace.
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As for those who simply want to watch at home, ITV4 will be showing live flag-to-flag coverage of every stage, as well as a nightly highlights show, allowing fans all across the country to enjoy the action, as well as international broadcasts on Discovery Player and GCN+.
Since its return in 2004, the Tour of Britain has become a cornerstone of the UK sporting calendar, with over 15 million people turning up to watch the event in person and generating more than £330m for the UK economy. Make no mistake, this is a massive annual event and Manchester’s lucky to play its part.
It goes without saying that Manchester’s connections with the sport are huge and plain for all to see, not only being the home of British Cycling, its national governing body and the National Cycling Centre, but also hosting the finale of the 2022 Tour Series.
As for Altrincham, we couldn’t have put it better than Tom Ross of Trafford Council: “Trafford is renowned for hosting world-class sport so it is a pleasure and honour to have the Grand Départ here in Altrincham. Last time, thousands of people came to cheer on the cyclists and enjoy the delights of our award-winning market town and I’m confident even more people will want to come and experience the opening of this illustrious event.”
He’s not wrong, in case you weren’t aware, Manchester is a sporting mecca and Trafford might just be the unofficial capital.
Luke Littler is challenging amateurs to beat him at darts as part of a live Netflix event
Danny Jones
In an unprecedented new sports event in the world of streaming, North West sports star Luke Little is offering people the chance to try and win a game of darts against him live on Netflix.
Best of all, he and the entertainment platform have put up a huge grand prize for anyone who can beat the Warrington wonder.
So, for any of you who fancy yourselves as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor reincarnated when stepping up to the oche down at the local, or if you’re simply bold enough to throw your name in the hat, you’ll want to pay attention for this one…
Announcing the special one-off sporting event on Netflix later this year, Luke Littler has issued the call-out to see if anyone can best him in a game of 501 in front of millions watching at home.
Quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime for fans of the arrows, this exclusive livestream is like nothing that the media giants have done before.
Having dipped their toes into the likes of live boxing fights over the past few years, they’ve definitely got a few live events under their belt, but this exciting and crucially interactive series of matches feels like something genuinely new for Netflix.
Most notably of all, using the name of the popular darts game played not only live on telly at competitions throughout the year but also at countless pubs across the country to set the prize fee, a prospective winner could potentially win £501k this autumn.
Imagine: half a million pounds for one (admittedly very tough) game of darts.
The only major caveat aside from, you know, him being an absolute phenom and already a serial winner is he also happens to be in the form of his life – his words and virtually everyone else’s.
"This is the best version of myself… I'm playing SO WELL!"
Luke Littler listens to some of the records he's broken in his ridiculous World Matchplay campaign 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EVQSrHxSHf
Having smashed Gerwyn Price to defend his World Matchplay Darts title on Sunday evening, cruising to an 18-9 victory with so many 100+ visits and finishes that he broke the tournament’s record average, which has stood since 2010, anyone who does come up against him is currently praying for a miracle.
Price himself told Sky Sports that the youngster’s performance looked ‘effortless’, quipping, “I hope there’s nobody else like him coming through!”
Still only 19, the local lad is the toughest of tasks for even the best on the pro circuit, but if you still somehow fancy your chances, heats will be taking place in Manchester and London, where the top 20 players will get their shot at the man himself on Friday, 30 October.
You can find out all the important information and sign up right HERE.
For now, why not see just how good Littler is playing at the minute and watch back his highlights from a record-breaking final this weekend?
Not that he’s ever truly cooled off, but he really is on fire at the minute.
Manchester City auctioning off exclusive ‘artefacts’ from Pep Guardiola’s office
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to auction off a limited number of used and/or signed items previously owned by legendary football manager Pep Guardiola himself.
The iconic Catalan head coach may have now left the club, but it’s fair to say that supporters are still grieving the bittersweet goodbye – and if you’re one of them, then this might be a good way of clinging on to him and the memories.
Teaming up with MatchWornShirt, an authentic collectables company that deals in memorabilia used by the sporting stars themselves, fans will soon be able to own a ‘piece of Pep’ if they so wish as part of this very special merchandise dump.
So, if you’re a collector of signed or match-worn merch, here’s a taster of what’s up for grabs:
Several items from @PepTeam's office are up for auction 🤝
Yes, should they be willing to put in the winning bid, Blues can genuinely own some of Guardiola‘s office knick-nacks, a tactics board and notes scribed on by the man himself, as well as his actual chair and even his whistle.
Does that count as kissing him? That’s not for us to say…
There is more standard fare, of course, such as worn training kits, photo frames, programmes and other printed media – almost all of which are signed by the 55-year-old.
On the other hand, if you’re so inclined to go for the super rare stuff, you can even buy his desk lamp and go-to coffee cups; whatever floats your boat.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss left Etihad Stadium this summer after 10 years as a Cityzen – with the club even releasing a dedicated ‘Decade Collection’ in his honour – and it now looks as though he could be set for his next job.
His former assistant turned replacement and ex-U23s/Elite Development Squad (EDS), Enzo Maresca, is now in place and making his first impressions on the City squad; safe to say it’ll take some work to leave the same lasting legacy as his mentor.
As for the auction, the club have labelled these exclusive trinkets as “artefacts”, promising that you won’t get many other opportunities, if any, to claim this kind of ‘KeePepsake’.
Meanwhile, in other MCFC news, the City Football Group (CFG) are taking steps to ensure local fans have easier access to matchday tickets with a new postcode lottery, of sorts.
Danny Jones -
1st August 2023 
