London finish for ToB

The eight-stage race will finish in Whitehall after several loops of the capital's postcard landmarks - a stage expected to be dominated by sprinters.

Last year's Tour concluded in London's Docklands because the race clashed with the Papal visit, while in 2008 and 2007 the final stage was held in Liverpool and Glasgow.

"As Britain's biggest professional cycle race and this country's largest free-to-spectate sporting event it is important that we finish with an iconic finale, and as we showed in 2008 and 2009 there is no better place to hold The Tour of Britain than at the heart of London," said Hugh Roberts, chief executive of organisers SweetSpot.

"This is a major commitment from us as organisers of The Tour of Britain, and we can now look forward to working with our partners Transport for London over the coming months to make Sunday 18th September a great celebration of cycling and a huge success for all parties."

On each of the previous occasions that the Tour of Britain has used the Whitehall and Victoria Embankment circuit, the race has come down to a battle between the top sprinters.

And race director Mick Bennett believes that this will again be the case in 2011.

"As previous years have shown the circuit we are using is perfectly suited to the sprinters, so I expect to see the stage again culminate in a bunch sprint.  In previous years riders of the calibre of Mark Cavendish, Matt Goss and Andre Greipel have all won sprint stages, so I'm sure that 2011 will be no different.

"With the World Championships in Copenhagen just a week after The Tour of Britain, this will be a dress rehearsal for some of the world's top sprinters to go head-to-head before the Worlds.  The course in Denmark looks to be suited to the sprinters, so there is a very real chance that we could see a world champion in waiting winning in London at The Tour of Britain."

However, Bennett denied that Newham Council, the Olympic host borough that staged last year's finale, had been snubbed. London 2012 organisers have been fighting one of their biggest PR battles after electing to finish their showpiece marathon in central London, as opposed to the Olympic Stadium to the east of the city.

 "I'd also like to thank Newham Council for hosting the final stage of The Tour of Britain in 2010, when the Pope's visit meant we were unable to bring the race into central London," he added.

"Newham were fantastic hosts and helped us to exceed all expectations for the stage, and we gave very serious consideration to returning to London's Olympic and Paralympic Borough this year. 

"However for technical reasons faced by ourselves and Newham Council it just wouldn't have been possible for them to host The Tour of Britain in 2011, so we are very much looking forward to returning to Westminster and the City of London in London's pre-Olympic year."