2016 Aviva Women’s Tour Route Announced

IceBike_MadisonBanner2016

Quite probably the World’s top Women’s stage race, the Aviva Women’s Tour organised by Sweetspot, has a very different looking route for 2016

2016 Aviva Women’s Tour Route Announced

WOMENS TOUR MAP_small

Click the map to see a bigger version and & more info +

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

2016 Aviva Women’s Tour Route Announced

The Aviva Women’s Tour to be held Wednesday, 15th to Sunday 19th of June, has a new-look route for 2016, with increased climbing and four stages in the heart of England, including a visit to the Peak District National Park.

Taking place over five days, the 2016 edition of the race will be a part of the new UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar, currently one of just four multi-day stage races on the season long programme of races for the world’s top riders and teams.

2015_WomensTour_Stage5_05

A New Beginning

The race will begin at Southwold on the Suffolk coast, before Norfolk becomes one of five counties to make their debut on the route, hosting the opening stage finish in Norwich city centre.

Stage Two will see a first visit to Warwickshire, with a 140-kilometre stage between Atherstone and Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday 16 June. A day later the peloton will face the first of two days in and around the Peak District, with 2,000-metres of climbing on the route between Ashbourne and Chesterfield in Derbyshire on the Friday through the heart of the Peak District National Park.

2015WomensTourStage3_12

The cities of Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent will bookend Stage Four on Saturday 18 June, with a route that includes a hilly finale through the Staffordshire Moorlands before the finish in the 2016 UK European City of Sport.

The race will conclude in Kettering, where Christine Majerus took a stage win in the 2015 edition, with Stage Five beginning in Northampton, which hosted the very first stage finish of the Aviva Women’s Tour in May 2014.

Commenting on the route announcement, reigning World Road Race Champion Lizzie Armitstead (below) of the Boels Dolmans team said; “It’s fantastic news that the Aviva Women’s Tour will continue in 2016. As a British rider it’s a privilege to be able to compete on home roads, the British public have really taken to cycling and you can see that when the race goes through different towns the community really gets behind it. I’m excited to see the growth in women’s cycling and I think the Women’s Tour has had a really positive impact on that change.”

LTOQ15_3_Armitstead_web

Commenting on the route announcement, Aviva Women’s Tour Race Director Mick Bennett said; “We are delighted to present the route for the 2016 Aviva Women’s Tour with a significantly tougher parcours than the previous editions, as requested by the team’s following last year, allowing us to take the race to some new areas. The interest from venues around the country to host the race has been huge, allowing us to put together an attractive route that will make not only for excellent racing, but also big crowds from the major towns and cities on, or close to the route.

“When we created the Women’s Tour in 2014 we said that our aim was for the event to be the world’s best women’s race within three years and it is our firm belief that being a part of the new UCI Women’s WorldTour sees us well on course to do so.”

Highlights of each stage will once again be shown by ITV4 every evening during the race.

What the Riders Say

Reigning Aviva Women’s Tour champion Lisa Brennauer (below) of the Canyon SRAM team said; “I’m looking forward to coming back to the Aviva Women’s Tour 2016. The race last year was outstandingly well organised and the amount of people that came to watch and cheer for us was breath-taking. Including some new routes with more climbs and longer stages than before, the tour offers new opportunities and again huge possibilities for thrilling racing. I can’t wait to see all of you again.”

2015_WomensTour_Stage5_11

Marianne Vos, Rabo Liv: “It’s great to see how fast Aviva Women’s Tour is developing. The route was already challenging, but now it’s going to be even harder, with the stages increasing in length and a lot more climbing added.

“This will take the Women’s Tour to a next level in 2016. To have attractive events like the Aviva Women’s Tour means a lot for women’s cycling. Great Britain is one of the front runners regarding professionalisation of our sport. I hope the crowd welcomes the adjusted route schedule as well. It’s partly thanks to the crowd the Women’s Tour has grown into an outstanding stage race.”

2015_WomensTour_Stage4_12

Hannah Barnes (above), Canyon SRAM Racing: “I travel all over the world racing, so to be able to race along roads I train on is a privilege. All my friends and family can come and watch, which is a real treat.”

Christine Majerus, Boels Dolmans Cycling Team: “I am really looking forward to coming back to Aviva Women’s Tour. Last year was a great experience, probably one of the best races of the calendar especially with huge crowds celebrating the race every day. With the race being a part of the Women’s World Tour this year I won’t be surprised to see it become even more popular. The team will be highly motivated to repeat last year’s success.”

DaniKingCadelsRR

Dani King, Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling: “I’m really looking forward to coming back to the UK to race in the Aviva Women’s Tour, it’s a great week for me personally being able to race in front of a home crowd. It’s always been a big focus for the team and now its a part of the Women’s World Tour we are extra motivated to do well. The event has grown so much in three years, it makes me really proud that a British race has become so big.”

Lindsay Forster, Marketing Director at Aviva, said: “The 2016 route looks fantastic and will definitely provide a real test to the teams and riders taking part this year. It’s great that the Aviva Women’s Tour will be reaching parts of the country that it has never visited before while also passing through some locations that have so openly embraced it in the past. This year’s race looks all set to be the best so far.”

Further news about the detailed stage routes, including the locations of Strava Queen of the Mountains climbs and the Chain Reaction Cycles Sprints, along with timings will be announced in the coming weeks along with the teams for the 2016 Aviva Women’s Tour.

AlpsCyclesMidstory

THE STAGES

Stage 1: Wednesday 15 June  Southwold to Norwich, 132km
Stage 2: Thursday 16 June   Atherstone to Stratford-upon-Avon, 140km
Stage 3: Friday 17 June     Ashbourne to Chesterfield, 112km
Stage 4: Saturday 18 June   Nottingham to Stoke-on-Trent, 119km
Stage 5: Sunday 19 June     Northampton to Kettering, 133km

 

History – The Aviva Women’s Tour
Created by SweetSpot Group in 2014, the Aviva Women’s Tour is the UK’s first ever international stage-race for women, bringing the world’s top riders to compete over five days in Great Britain.

SweetSpot are an event organiser and sports marketing company behind the organisation of the Tour of Britain, the UK’s biggest professional cycle race and the country’s largest free-to-watch sporting event, and the creation of the unique Tour Series town and city centre televised races. The two editions to date, won by Marianne Vos in 2014 and Lisa Brennauer in 2015, have seen hundreds of thousands of spectators turn out at the roadside with many more around the UK watching the ITV4 highlights every evening.

The third edition of the Aviva Women’s Tour will run from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 June 2016.

Key Links
Website www.womenstour.co.uk
Twitter www.twitter.com/thewomenstour
Facebook www.facebook.com/thewomenstour
Instagram www.instagram.com/thetourcycling
YouTube www.youtube.com/thetourcycling

2016_Feb_Caspv2

 

The Stage Maps
Larger versions of these maps will be on VeloUK’s facebook page

WOMENS TOUR MAP_STAGE 1

WOMENS TOUR MAP_STAGE 2

WOMENS TOUR MAP_STAGE 3

WOMENS TOUR MAP_STAGE 4

WOMENS TOUR MAP_STAGE 5

Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: ,