The AJ Bell Tour of Britain has ended early as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. The final three stages have been cancelled and Gonzalo Serrano has been awarded the victory.

 

– Photos: SWpix.com (via AJ Bell Tour of Britain)

The peloton in stage three of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain, an eight-stage race that has concluded after five stages. (Photo: SWpix.com)

Cycling isn’t immune to the impact of the royal family. Although another three days of racing were to be part of the eight-stage race (5-11 September 2022), the organisers have announced that the AJ Bell Tour of Britain is over and that the leader of GC, Gonzalo Serrano of the Movistar team, has been declared the winner.

“Further to the earlier statement in relation to the cancellation of stage six as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, the organisers of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain can additionally confirm that stages seven and eight will not take place.”

The official statement goes on to explain that the decision to cancel the final weekend of racing was also done after “consultation with stakeholders and partners in light of operational circumstances, including the understandable reassignment of police resource at this time”.

The winners of the other prize classifications are Tom Pidcock (points jersey), Mathijs Paasschens (mountains jersey) and Matthew Teggart (sprints).

The statement concludes with organisers extending their sympathy to the Royal Family. “The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, send their deepest condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.”

Richie Porte waves goodbye to his career as a pro cyclist. (Photo: SWpix.com)

The early end to the race also brings to a close the pro cycling career of one of Australia’s finest cyclists, Richie Porte, who was riding his farewell race in Britain.

The 37-year-old Tasmanian has amassed a considerable collection of race victories in a career that began in 2007 after he made a switch from part-time triathlete / pool lifeguard in Launceston.

As well as his long list of personal achievements, Porte also played a pivotal role in the success of many team-mates during his time in the WorldTour peloton which started in sensational style when he joined the Saxo Bank team in 2010.

Porte led the Giro d’Italia for three days in his neo-pro season and he went on to represent Australia at the first ‘home’ world championships in Geelong in October 2010. He finished fourth in the individual time trial won by his Saxo Bank team-mate at the time, Fabian Cancellara.

Before that, he was fourth overall in the Tour of Britain in mid-September.

Porte raced with Saxo Bank for two seasons before joining Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season. After finishing third and fifth in time trial and road race, respectively, at the national championships he made his European race debut for the British team at the Tour ao Algarve in Portugal in February and duly won GC of that five-day stage race, relegating Tony Martin and his team-mate at the time Bradley Wiggins to the minor places on the podium.

After four years with Team Sky, he opted for a leadership role with the BMC Racing team in 2015 after the retirement from racing of Australia’s most successful GC rider, Cadel Evans.

The stint at BMC Racing lasted three years and, when that team folded at the end of 2018, he signed with the US-registered Trek-Segafredo team which he raced with for a couple of years.

It was with Trek that he scored one result he coveted the most, a podium finish in the Tour de France – finishing third in the delayed 2020 edition behind two Slovenians, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.

To round out his career, Porte returned to the British-registered team, Ineos Grenadiers (formerly known as Team Sky).

There is a long list of impressive results and a wealth of stories associated with a career that is now over, three days earlier than expected.

 

– Flashback: read how Richie Porte’s career began – ‘Induction of a pro cyclist’ (April 2010) –

This is a time of immense change. The cancellation of a race is a relatively minor event considering the significance of the news from Britain overnight. From an Australian cycling perspective, it marks the end of an amazing career for one of our finest riders.

Richie Porte may have stopped racing as a professional, but once a cyclist always a cyclist. And, as he’s often said, now he’ll enjoy riding his bike… not for a job but because it’s something he loves to do. All the best with whatever comes next Richie. Thanks for the memories.

 

– By Rob Arnold