One year on from becoming the race's first-ever Spanish champion, Gonzalo Serrano will return to the Tour of Britain in September. 

The Madrid-born rider will lead the Movistar Team at this year's race, which begins in Greater Manchester on Sunday 3 September. 

Serrano won stage four at Duncombe Park, North Yorkshire, en route to taking overall glory in last year's shortened race. He beat home favourite Tom Pidcock and Spaniard Omar Fraile by three and seven seconds respectively after nearly 21 hours of racing.

 While the modern incarnation of the Tour has had two riders – Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015) and Lars Boom (2011 and 2017) – claim multiple titles, no rider has ever won back-to-back editions of the race.

Serrano said: "I am very excited to compete in the Tour of Britain again because it is a race that I have always liked. Unfortunately, last year it was a different edition and I hope that this year it can be held without setbacks. I arrive with the intention of retaining my title." 

The remainder of the Movistar Team line-up for the Tour of Britain will be announced in due course.

Detailed map and time Tour of Britain is coming to the Shotley peninsula...

About the Tour of Britain

Stages

Stage one      Sunday 3 September             Altrincham to Manchester

Stage two      Monday 4 September            Wrexham to Wrexham

Stage three   Tuesday 5 September Goole to Beverley

Stage four     Wednesday 6 September      Sherwood Forest to Newark-on-Trent

Stage five      Thursday 7 September          Felixstowe to Felixstowe

Stage six       Friday 8 September               Southend-on-Sea to Harlow

Stage seven  Saturday 9 September           Tewkesbury to Gloucester

Stage eight   Sunday 10 September           Margam Country Park to Caerphilly 

Teams

UCI WorldTeams: BORA – hansgrohe (Germany), INEOS Grenadiers (Great Britain), Jumbo – Visma (Netherlands), Movistar Team (Spain), Team dsm-firmenich (Netherlands)

UCI ProTeams: Bingoal WB (Belgium), Bolton Equities Black Spoke (New Zealand), Equipo Kern Pharma (Spain) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland), Team Flanders – Baloise (Belgium), Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Norway)

UCI Continental Teams: Global 6 Cycling (New Zealand), Saint Piran (Great Britain), TDT-Unibet Cycling Team (Netherlands), TRINITY Racing (Great Britain) 

National Teams: Great Britain Cycling Team 

Relaunched in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar, the Tour of Britain is British Cycling's premier road cycling event, held annually across eight days in September.

The free-to-watch sporting spectacular features Olympic, world and Tour de France champions, and attracts a roadside audience of over 1.5m spectators. Live coverage of the race is shown daily in the UK on ITV4, in addition to around the world. The Tour of Britain is part of the UCI ProSeries, making it one of the most prestigious sporting events in the sport's global calendar.