I like this race. It's just close enough to home for me to travel comfortably each day. Not only that, for the last couple of years the finish line has been located right outside the sports centre which is the race HQ.

There is a nice relaxed atmosphere with a good team of Merseyside and North Wales officials with whom I have built a good relationship over the years. Here's a few images.

The first four pictures show our little area of the car park, with me set up alongside British Cycling's presentation vehicle. This was in the capable hands of Peter Miller. I set the camera looking over the hedge, which is a little bit unusual but gave me some good film. As in the previous week at Aintree many of the riders numbers were obscured by training tops and judging Saturdays's stage was especially hard.

Ready for the off (below left). The race assembles in the car park for the start of Stage 2 on Saturday afternoon. The picture on the right is of the bunch setting out.