News: Women’s Tour of Britain

The stage hosts of the 2024 Tour of Britain Women stages have been announced as preparations for the inaugural edition of the race progress ahead of the Grand Départ in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June.

News: Women’s Tour of Britain

The stage hosts of the 2024 Tour of Britain Women stages have today been announced, as preparations for the inaugural edition of the race progress ahead of the Grand Départ in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June. The Men’s Tour of Britain Men will be 3-8 September

The race will see the world’s top female riders and teams go head-to-head across four tough stages of racing, in what will be the first major international stage race delivered by British Cycling Events. Hundreds of thousands of fans will line the streets for what is the nation’s biggest free-to-attend sporting event, as the country gears up for another thrilling summer of cycling.

The route
This year’s race will feature a number of familiar start and finish locations which have successfully hosted major international events in recent years.

Tour of Britain Women 2024:
Stage 1 – Thursday 6 June 2024: Welshpool to Llandudno
Stage 2 – Friday 7 June 2024: Wrexham
Stage 3 – Saturday 8 June 2024: Warrington
Stage 4 – Sunday 9 June 2024: Greater Manchester

The race will begin in Welshpool, situated in the heart of mid-Wales. Welshpool hosted the thrilling finish of stage four of the 2022 Women’s Tour, where Australia’s Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) sprinted to victory. The stage will see riders head north to the picturesque seaside town of Llandudno, in what will be a challenging start to the race.

Stage two will see riders stay in Wales for a start and finish in Wrexham, which also featured in the 2022 Women’s Tour. The rolling route will take in a series of challenging climbs in the dramatic Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales.

The caravan then will cross the Welsh border to the north-west of England, where Warrington will host both the start and finish of stage three on Saturday, with a flatter route that will favour the sprinters. Warrington welcomed the men’s Tour of Britain in 2021, where Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed a memorable stage win.

The race will then conclude in Greater Manchester, as part of the city region’s European Capital of Cycling celebrations. Riders will depart from the National Cycling Centre, the home of British Cycling, before taking in some of the region’s challenging climbs before they reach the finish line in Leigh, where the race winner will be crowned.

Full routes for each of the stages, along with the teams and riders competing, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Rod Ellingworth, who was announced as Tour of Britain Race Director in March this year, said: “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. 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.”

Jon Dutton OBE, CEO of British Cycling, said: “Today is another important milestone in our journey and reflective of the enormous goodwill and support which major road cycling events continue to enjoy.

Lizzie Deignan, former road world champion and Olympic silver medallist, said: “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.”

“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.”

Earlier this month, British Cycling announced that the Tour of Britain Men would be delivered over six days in 2024, with an ambition to bring future parity to the two national tours, following the alignment of the event names in 2024.