Twenty teams confirmed for 2014 Tour of Britain

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The Tour of Britain has confirmed the twenty teams which will contest the 2014 edition of the race that has been upgraded to UCI 2.HC status this year.

Defending champion Bradley Wiggins will compete in the race with his Team Sky squad who are one of seven WorldTour teams that will take part in the race. Wiggins' appearance in the race means that he will miss the Vuelta a España and will not ride a Grand Tour this season. It is the first time since 2005, when Wiggins made his Giro d'Italia debut, that he hasn't ridden a single three-week race during a season.

Along with the WorldTour teams, five pro-Continental teams, six Continental teams a Great Britain national team complete the roster for this year's race which begins in Liverpool on September. The race concludes with a time trial and road race in London seven days later on the 14.

"Every year we get a very positive response from teams wishing to ride the Friends Life Tour of Britain and this year that has been even more so the case," said Race Director Mick Bennett.

"Not only do we have a very strong line-up of teams, half of whom raced in the Tour de France, we are confident that they will be bringing their best possible squads, meaning fans can look forward to seeing the world's top riders, some exciting racing and maybe a few surprises this September."

Three teams will make their debut at the race this year, including Novo Nordisk and BMC while NFTO will be looking to Adam Blythe for more success after he won the LondonRide Classic on Sunday.

WorldTour
- Belkin
- BMC Racing Team
- Garmin Sharp
- Movistar
- Omega Pharma-QuickStep
- Giant Shimano
- Team Sky
- Tinkoff Saxo

Pro-Continental
- Bardiani CSF
- IAM Cycling
- MTN Qhubeka
- Team NetApp Endura
- Team Novo Nordisk

Continental
- AN Post Chain Reacton
- Madison Genesis
- NFTO Pro Cycling
- Giordana Racing Team
- Rapha Condor JLT
- Team Raleigh

National
- Great Britain

2014 Tour of Britain route:
Stage 1: Sunday 7th September - Liverpool city centre, 130km
Stage 2: Monday 8th September - Knowsley - Llandudno, 197km
Stage 3: Tuesday 9th September - Newtown to The Tumble, 150km
Stage 4: Wednesday 10th September - Worcester - Bristol, 182km
Stage 5: Thursday 11th September - Exmouth - Exeter, 171km
Stage 6: Friday 12th September - Bath - Hemel Hempstead, 203km
Stage 7: Saturday 13th September - Camberley - Brighton, 220km
Stage 8a: Sunday 14th September - London individual time trial, 8.8km
Stage 8b: Sunday 14th September - London circuit race, 88.8km