Dennis and Phinney to lead BMC at Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain starts in Glasgow on Sunday September 4 and ends a week later in London on September 11. The race includes several rolling stages that traditionally suit breakaways, with six-rider squads making it difficult for one team to control the peloton. New for 2016 is a split stage on the penultimate day, with a 15km time trial and technical circuit race in Bristol that should prove critical for the overall winner. The time trial will suit both Dennis and Phinney but they face serious competition from Bradley Wiggins and Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin).

Also in the six rider squad are 22 year-old stagiaire Taylor Eisenhart of the USA, Amaël Moinard, Loïc Vliegen and Rick Zabel.

"We are lining up at the Aviva Tour of Britain with stage victories in mind and will see how the general classification develops from there. We have a motivated and talented team racing in Britain and, as we have been doing all season, we will try and be active in the breaks and will be looking for success daily," directeur sportif Jackson Stewart said wen the team was revealed.

Phinney and Dennis both return to racing at the Tour of Britain after taking a break after the Rio Olympic Games. The 26 year-old Australian finished fifth in the time trial won by Fabian Cancellara. He missed out on the chance for a medal after his handlebars snapped during his ride.

"I'm feeling good at the moment. I had some time off after Rio and the first four days back on the bike felt like I belonged in a junior category but since then things have been back on track and I'm looking forward to testing the legs out in a race like the Tour of Britain," Dennis said.

"The time trial is definitely a target of mine and I would love to win it. Plus if I'm still up there on the general classification by then it could really set me up for the overall victory," Dennis added.

Cyclingnews will have full live coverage from every stage of the Tour of Britain plus special news, interviews and photo galleries.