Known in previous incarnations as the Milk Race, the kellogg's Tour and the Pru Tour of Britain, the Tour of Britain was granted world championships ranking status in 2004 by the world governing body the UCI (the Union Cyclisme Internationale) thus guaranteeing the cream of the world's cyclists coming to Great Britain.

The Tour of Britainhas placed itself on a global platform along with other major races such as The Tour De France and Giro d'Italia by attracting a combination of teams both nationally and internationally including such Pro Tour Teams as Discovery Channel, T-Mobile, Quickstep, Phonak and Cofidis. The Tour of Britain is determined in the future to become part of the UCI's elite Pro Tour calendar.

Blackpool is to play host to the prestigious Grand Depart which will see the riders in town for a week prior to the start of the race to launch the Tour of Britain. They will then head to Rochdale for the official start of the first stage which will take them through the northwest and back to the finish line in Blackpool. The full competition sees the riders race through eight stages around the country.