Former Tour of Britain winner Doug Brooker ready to welcome the Tour back to Wrexham

Wrexham is set to host a same day stage of the Tour of Britain starting and finishing in the city on Monday – 4th September.

Sixteen of the world’s leading teams will compete in this year’s Tour of Britain. Professional cyclist of the mid-1950’s and winner of the final stage of the 1955 Tour of Britain Doug Brooker is looking forward to seeing the event come to his home county.

Doug says “winning the Tour of Britain in 1955 was such a fantastic experience and I was so pleased to hear that the 2023 tour was coming past the front door of The Rainbow Foundation where I go each week. We talk, socialise, and make real connections here so I can’t wait to share this with them too. We plan to all sit outside together to watch the peloton and all the riders go past. It’s going to be such a great day and a real treat.”

Director of Operations at The Rainbow Foundation Ian Pope adds: “when we found out that the Tour of Britain will be going past our front door, we knew that this was a great opportunity for us to not only enable our clients to witness and be a part of a great day, but also to celebrate Doug and his achievements in the 1950’s. We are really looking forward to hearing Doug share his story with our clients and staff against the backdrop of such a momentous event.”

Douglas started his career as a professional cyclist for the Viking Team while also working as an apprentice builder. He made sure his training was not impacted though as in addition to his regular training, he rode 2.5 hours to his apprenticeship and 2.5 hours back after a day’s work. His hard work paid off as Doug won the first ever rough rider race staged by The British League of Racing, on the difficult snow-covered bridle paths in the Derwent Dams area of Derbyshire. Doug was more than just an off-road cyclist though as he was the 1953 and 1954 National Hill Climb Champion, both times riding up Snake Pass faster than anyone else.

However, Doug’s crowning glory on a bike was to win the final stage of the Tour of Britain – the 123.5 miles from Bournemouth to London – in 1955.

Doug attends The Rainbow Foundation, an active ageing charity which has successfully worked to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities since 1994. In 2023 The Rainbow Foundation were announced the overall winners of the GSK IMPACT Awards in partnership with the King’s Fund, which nationally recognises outstanding work in health and social care.

The Rainbow Foundation client Olive Saddington says: “Doug has been really excited since he heard about the Tour of Britain coming past the Rainbow Centre, let’s hope the rain stays away!”.