The longest and arguably toughest stage of the Tour of Britain will start in Ceredigion and finish in Llandudno.

Two stages of Britain’s national tour will take place in Wales on 7 and 8 September, Carmarthenshire will host a team time trial on Stage Three, while Stage Four starts at Aberaeron and finishes 209.7km away at the summit of Llandudno’s Great Orme, the first visit for the modern Tour of Britain.

Rescheduled to 2021 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 17th edition of the UK’s most prestigious stage race (5-12 September) will begin in Cornwall, covering 1,320km (820m) before the finish in Aberdeen, with Scotland also hosting two stages.

All the action will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK and around the world.

The race will go ahead subject to local conditions and in line with relevant national guidelines and UCI protocols.

Organisers SweetSpot are working closely with the Welsh Government and all the local authorities along the route in Wales to ensure that the event can take place safely.

The last full stage of the Tour of Britain to take place in Wales was in September 2018, when Carmarthenshire hosted the Grand Depart of the race.

This year sees a team time trial feature for only the second time in Tour of Britain history on stage three (7 September), and for the first time in Wales.

The Carmarthenshire team time trial stage will see the world’s best tackle a 27.5km route, starting from Llandeilo and finishing at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, which is home to the world’s largest single-span glasshouse.

The Queen stage of the 2021 Tour of Britain, stage four will start by the sea in the harbour town of Aberaeron and culminate with a dramatic finish atop the Great Orme in Llandudno.

The 215km route will take the race to parts of Mid Wales for the first time in modern Tour history, including Aberystwyth, Borth and Barmouth.

A tough ending to the stage sees the race heading through the Snowdonia National Park and a ŠKODA King of the Mountains ascent of the Great Orme’s Marine Drive toll road before tackling the 1.9km, 9.8 per cent average climb that runs parallel to the famous tramway up to the finish.

The Tour of Britain last visited the Great Orme in 2014 when Mark Renshaw won a stage finishing in Llandudno, but the modern Tour of Britain has never climbed to the summit.

Leader of Ceredigion County Council Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn said: ‘We’re delighted to welcome the Tour of Britain to Ceredigion this year.

“As the tour travels up the wonderful coastline from Aberaeron towards the north of the county, people will be able to experience the breath-taking scenery through the extensive coverage of the tour.”

Detailed routes and timetables for the Tour of Britain stages can now be found by visiting tourofbritain.co.uk/stages while more information for spectators for both Welsh stages will be announced in the coming weeks.

Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain race director, said: “This year’s Tour of Britain route is truly spectacular, covering a greater geographical area than we’ve ever done before while also ticking off several things we’ve wanted to do for a long time.

“Be it visiting Cornwall and Aberdeenshire, hosting stage finishes on the summit of Great Orme and in the shadow of the Angel of the North, reintroducing a team time trial and visiting noteworthy and historic host venues new and old, I have a feeling that this year’s race will be one for the ages.”

Six British teams have already been confirmed for the Tour of Britain, including the Great Britain national team, with the full roster to be confirmed later this month.