Wales to host opening stages for rebranded Tour of Britain Women in June

British Cycling announced today the host cities stretching from Welshpool to Manchester for a "monumental effort" to launch this year's Tour of Britain Women, formerly known as Women's Tour. The rebranded event, which was cancelled last year and has had a turbulent path to a rebranding by British Cycling, will begin in 10 weeks, scheduled for June 6-9 as a Women's WorldTour event.

"Our primary focus has been to deliver a safe and competitive race in 2024, and while there is still a great deal of work to do, we remain every bit as determined to harness the race's spotlight to make a real impact in the communities which it touches," said Jon Dutton, CEO of British Cycling.

"We know that it is a vision which resonates strongly in the positive conversations we've been having with prospective commercial partners and hosts which continues to be extremely encouraging."

It was two weeks ago that British Cycling confirmed the men's Tour of Britain would be set up with six stages, down from a total of eight days contested in 2023. It was the goal of the governing body to have "parity to the two national tours, following the alignment of the event names in 2024", a press release noted. The dates have not been confirmed on the UCI calendar at the time of this report.

Last spring the Women's Tour was cancelled as then-organiser, SweetSpot Group Limited, which held the licence to manage both the men's and women's race, was unable to sign sponsorships needed to support the race. The men's race proceeded in September, won by Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). 

Then in November, British Cycling cancelled their deal with SweetSpot as it came to light that licence fees of £700,000 were still unpaid, according to the governing body, which holds the rights for the Tour of Britain brand. Cycling Weekly also reported that the Isle of Wight council was looking for £350,000 from SweetSpot for money owed when the final stages they were to host at the 2022 Tour of Britain were cancelled due to the death of the Queen.

Both the Tour of Britain and Women's Tour had been removed from the UCI's 2024 calendar, the women scheduled to race in June and the men the first week in September. British Cycling came to the rescue and reclaimed operations for both races, rebranding the women's race but not confirming other details. In March, they named Rod Ellingworth as race director of the Tour of Britain, his first role since departing the management of Ineos Grenadiers during the winter.

"It's been a monumental effort by the whole team over the past 10 weeks to confirm the stages for this year's Tour of Britain Women," said Rod Ellingworth, who was announced as Tour of Britain Race Director in March.

"The race will take in four competitive and challenging routes, some challenging climbing in Wales and what I'm sure will be brilliant crowds on the roadside throughout." 

The first half of the four-day stage race will be held in Wales, with Welshpool serving as the host for the Grand Départ on Thursday, June 6, with a northerly route taking in the picturesque seaside town of Llandudno. Wrexham takes up the reins for the stage 2 start and finish, taking in a series of challenging climbs in the dramatic Clwydian Range and Dee Valley. 

Warrington, in north-west England, will host stage 3 and a flatter route for the sprinters.  The finale will take place in Manchester, with the start from the National Cycling Centre and a finish in Leigh. Full route details for each of the four stages will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) won the last edition of the Women's Tour in 2022, with a one-second margin over Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope). 

Briton Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) is a two-time winner of the Women's Tour, in 2016 and 2019, and was pleased to have a Women's WorldTour event return to Great Britain.

"It's always special to race in Britain, and I'm so pleased to have two top-level stage races to look forward to on home soil as I ramp up my preparations for a busy summer ahead," she said in a British Cycling press release.

"There's clearly so much support and fondness for the race, both at home and further afield. The four stage hosts deserve credit for their commitment to women's racing and for helping to make the race happen, and I'm sure that together we can put on a brilliant show in June."