ExCeL London owing to a clash with the Pope's visit to London, which meant that the centre of the city was out of bounds to the race on the orders of the police and security services. 2011 The 2011 Tour of Britain was held from Sunday 11 to Sunday 18 September. Stage two, scheduled to take place between Kendal and Carlisle, was cancelled due to bad weather. It remains the only stage of the modern race not to run as planned. The general classification was won by Dutch rider Lars Boom. This edition of the race outlined the event's growing stature on the international cycling calendar, as Thor Hushovd became only the second reigning UCI road world champion to win a stage of the race wearing the iconic Rainbow Jersey when he triumphed in Caerphilly on stage four. Furthermore, Mark Cavendish returned to the race for the first time since the 2007 Tour of Britain less than two months after he won the Points classification in the Tour de France. The Manxman won the opening stage in Dumfries and London circuit race finale; he also set up HTC–Highroad team-mate Mark Renshaw to win in Exmouth on day five. 2012 The 2012 Tour of Britain was held from Sunday 9 to Sunday 16 September. With the British public's interest in cycling high off the back of Bradley Wiggins' victory in that summer's Tour de France and the London 2012 Olympic Games, the final two hours of each stage during the 2012 race were shown live on ITV4 and Eurosport. SweetSpot MD Hugh Roberts said of this significant step: "We have worked tirelessly with our stakeholders and partners around the country to make this happen, and are delighted that for the first time ever cycling fans can watch each day of The Tour live, wherever they are in Britain." Jonathan Tiernan-Locke originally won the event, the first British rider to do so since its relaunch. In 2014, following investigation for biological passport irregularities, Tiernan-Locke was banned for two years and stripped of his 2012 title. The race was retrospectively awarded to Australia's Nathan Haas, riding for the Garmin–Sharp team. Mark Cavendish, in his last race as World Champion, won three stages including the final stage in an uphill sprint up Guildford's cobbled high street. Tour de France 2012 winner, Bradley Wiggins was forced to pull out of the Tour after stage 5,