Revitalisation efforts to breathe new life into the Tour of Scandinavia came to a halt for a second consecutive year as organisers announced Thursday "the end of the road" for the Women's WorldTour stage race.
Since its formation in 2014 as the Ladies Tour of Norway, the race has been contested nine times. In 2020, the race was cancelled due to the COVID global pandemic and in 2024 the race was not held because of a financial shortfall to produce a top-tier contest, Norway's only Women's WorldTour stage race.
Seeking to re-energise the stage race for a 10th edition, a press release revealed that attempts fell short to secure appropriate funding and broadcast partnerships and that the national federation lacked "enthusiasm" to support the home race planned for August 19-24. The event has been terminated and rights holders Ladies Tour of Norway AS will dissolve as the parent company.
"After last year's cancellation, hard work has been done since last summer to revive the World Tour race. We were well into the preparations with both the race concept, host municipalities, and not least international TV distribution, which looks very impressive and is in place," a statement read from the Liquidation Board of Ladies Tour of Norway.
"However, we must acknowledge that we have not succeeded in building a brand that is attractive enough to media, sponsors, and other important stakeholders in Norway. There are no national TV channels in Norway, like NRK and Tv2, who wish to distribute the race on TV despite us covering all production costs.
"Without national TV coverage, sponsors, and a federation lacking enthusiasm to support the World Tour race at home, it becomes difficult to establish a sustainable financial platform and create the enthusiasm needed, both internally and externally, to deliver a professional cycling race at the top level."
The six-day stage race was slotted after the mid-August Tour de Romandie Féminin and led to the conclusion for the bulk of summer WorldTour racing before the World Championships in September in Rwanda.
Marianne Vos had the most wins during the tenure of the stage race, taking the GC title for three consecutive years when the race moved to the top level, 2017 to 2019. Annemiek van Vleuten was the last rider to hoist the trophy, earning her second overall victory in 2023.
"We have dared to be innovative and have been an important driver for the development of international women's cycling. We are proud of what we have created and happy to be remembered as one of the best and most recognized races on the women's World Tour race calendar.
"We also want to extend a big thank you to the international cycling federation UCI for dedicated and professional support during the start-up and growth of the race and for showing great patience and understanding in our attempt to revive the race.
"We are bowing out at the top."
