The joy of the Aviva Tour of Britain is in its unpredictability, says Chris Boardman.
The eight-day British national tour begins in North Wales on Sunday, the first day of a challenging route which rewards the daring, but can punish too.
That is what makes it exciting, according to 1992 Olympic champion and three-times Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Boardman.
"The one thing we've come to learn is you just don't know what's going to happen in this race," Boardman, Aviva's ambassador for the Tour of Britain, told Press Association Sport.
"You get home riders, people trying to make their name, people coming back from injury, people building up for the worlds, people winding down.
"It's such a mix it's more who is the most tenacious who tends to win, not who is the best on that climb there.
"You can't pinpoint where it's going to happen. That makes good viewing."
Dylan van Baarle won the 2014 edition ahead of Michal Kwiatkowski and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Kwiatkowski went on to win the Road World Championships road race and Wiggins the time-trial, with both using the Tour of Britain as preparation.
The race, which finishes in London on September 13, benefits from its point in the calendar as an alternative build-up event for the Road World Championships to the three-week Vuelta a Espana.
Wiggins, who won the 2013 edition, will be present again, this time for his eponymous team after switching his major focus from the road to the track.
Ben Swift will lead Team Sky's six-man squad, which includes three other Britons in Andy Fenn, Pete Kennaugh and Ian Stannard.
The first stage from Beaumaris, Anglesey to Wrexham is anticipated to finish in a sprint, suiting Mark Cavendish, who appears to be in the final months of his stay with Etixx-QuickStep as his contract is expiring.
The second, from Clitheroe to Colne, could be a defining point in the general classification standings, but there will be plenty of opportunities afterwards on a varied route.
"The winner will probably come from a breakaway that goes away at some unspecified point, even as early as stage two because round Clitheroe it's pretty nasty," Boardman said.
Source: PA-WIRE
