Monday's second stage of the Tour of Britain between Kendal and Blackpool has been cancelled due to high winds.
Decision not to race taken for safety reasons
Monday's second stage of the Tour of Britain between Kendal and Blackpool has been cancelled due to high winds in the Northwest of England.
Large parts of the country have been hit by blustery conditions and organisers, based on guidance from the police, the Highways Agency and the Met Office, were forced to take the decision not to race.
Explaining the decision, Tour of Britain Race Director Mick Bennett said: "In my 30 years of organising cycling events I have never once had to cancel a stage before it even started, so this is not a decision that has been taken lightly.
"However today has presented as with a set of extreme circumstances. The safety of competitors, officials, staff and of course spectators is of more importance than the spectacle of the event. We cannot, and will not take the slightest risk when it comes to safety, hence today’s decision.
"Pockets of the route, including the start at Kendal were more sheltered but still experienced extremely blustery conditions. In the main though there were large sections of the stage on exposed hillsides, including the three Skoda King of the Mountains locations, plus the final five kilometres of the stage along Blackpool Promenade, where conditions were deemed unsafe by ourselves as organisers, hence the regrettable decision to cancel the stage.
"I would like to thank the teams and riders for their assistance today, and apologise to the many spectators out on the route who have missed out on the opportunity to see The Tour of Britain, but we hope that they will understand the reasons behind our decision."
With a large crowd already out in force in Kendal, a decision was taken by organisers and the teams and riders to hold a neutralised parade of the town centre.
A cavalcade of team and Tour of Britain vehicles then followed the route of stage two, led by the HTC Highroad team car containing the IG Markets Gold Jersey and stage one winner Mark Cavendish.
Stage three around Stoke-on-Trent will go ahead as planned on Tuesday, with the stage due to start from Trentham Gardens at 1030BST.
