Tortola Island Tour   

The Virgin Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second journey to the Carribean. The island of Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, was named Ter Tholen after the Dutch island of Tholen, by its first colonisers. When the British took control of the islands, it was renamed Tortola.

The island hosts the annual 8th Division race Tortola Island Tour. The race tours around about 75% ...

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The Virgin Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second journey to the Carribean. The island of Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, was named Ter Tholen after the Dutch island of Tholen, by its first colonisers. When the British took control of the islands, it was renamed Tortola.

The island hosts the annual 8th Division race Tortola Island Tour. The race tours around about 75% of the coastline, and has a varied terrain. The start is on the runway of the Tortola Airport on Beef Island. The riders take the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge to the Island of Tortola, where they enter the Waterfront Drive. The road takes them to the capital: Road Town.

The peloton enters the town from the north-east, passing the former colonial Fort George. The parcours leads past the Noel Lloyd park, named after an activist who succesfully protested against a businessman who wanted to buy a major part of the island. After Noel Lloyd Park, the riders encounter the first possible breaking point in the race, a particular 240 metre stretch on Waterfront Drive with a maximal gradient of 15.2%.

The steep section of Waterfront Drive can only provide a gap of a few seconds, however, after only 5 kilometres the riders begin the first of three climbs of the Sage Mountain, the highest point on the Virgin Islands. The first two climbs are 2,5 kilometres long each with an elevation of 296 metres, making the average gradient 11,8%. After the first climb, the riders will descend to the northern coast of the island, where they take a left to the westernmost part of the island.

After reaching West End, the riders head back for a second Sage Mountain. The last twenty kilometres take them through the outskirts of Road Town, wherethe narrow and curvy roads make it difficult for the chasing bunch. The riders re-enter Waterfront Drive just after the steep patch, so the last 4 kilometres before the last climb are relatively flat and provide the last chance for the sprinters to catch a breakaway. The last climb of Sage Mountain is longer (5,2 kilometres), as the riders go to the actual summit for the finish. However, the elevation doesn't change a lot (324 metres), reducing the average gradient to only 6,2%. The last 750 metres are virtually flat, so the finale can be both a solo or a (small) sprint.