Ovo Energy has been announced as the new title sponsor of the Tour of Britain and the Women's Tour for 2017. The energy supplier will replace Aviva as the main sponsor after the insurance company ended its sponsorship following last year's Women's Tour.
"We are delighted to be at the start of what we anticipate to be a long and exciting partnership with Ovo Energy," said Hugh Roberts, CEO of race organiser SweetSpot. "The Women's Tour and The Tour of Britain are leading events within the world calendar and the partnership with Ovo Energy will enable these events to continue to grow, engaging more fans and communities."
The races will be known as the Ovo Energy Women's Tour and Ovo Energy Tour of Britain. The new sponsor also means a change of colours for the races. Traditionally, the race leader has worn a gold jersey but it has had a green make-over for the 2017 events.
As well as a new sponsor, organisers have confirmed the presence of the Women's Tour's three former winners - defending champion Lizzie Deignan (Boels Dolmans), Lisa Brennauer (Canyon-SRAM), and Marianne Vos (WM3 Pro Cycling) - for the 2017 edition of the June race.
"I'm looking forward to returning to the Women's Tour; there is always a great buzz around the race. Now with a new title sponsor, Ovo Energy, it will be great to see it become even bigger," said Brennauer, who won the 2015 edition.
The Women's Tour will take place between June 7-11, with the race finishing in London for the first time. Deignan won last year's race, beating Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio by 11 seconds in the overall standings.
The route for the Tour of Britain has yet to be announced but will take place from September 3-10.
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