Wales to host opening stages of Tour of Britain Women race

The Grand Départ of this year’s first Tour of Britain Women will be in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June.

Llandudno will host the stage finish on day one before Wrexham welcomes the world’s top female riders and teams for both the start and finish of stage two.

The caravan then will cross the Welsh border, where Warrington will stage the start and finish of stage three on Saturday.

The race will conclude in Greater Manchester on Sunday, as part of the city region’s European Capital of Cycling celebrations.

Originally named The Women’s Tour, the race was first held in 2014 and was organised until 2023 by SweetSpot, the company behind the men’s Tour of Britain.

However, in January, following the loss of key sponsors and increased running costs, the business went into liquidation, meaning this years’ race route was designed and agreed in just 10 weeks.

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.

Challenge

Welcoming the return of the race, Wales’ Economy Secretary, Jeremy Miles said: “Wales and cycling go hand in hand, with our spectacular scenery and routes providing elite and recreational cyclists alike with both challenge and enjoyment.

“This is a welcome return to Wales for this fantastic event and provides an excellent opportunity to showcase Welshpool, Llandudno, Wrexham and the surrounding area to an ever-growing cycling audience. We are very pleased to have been able to support the event and look forward to providing a warm ‘Croeso’ to all in June.”

Jon Dutton OBE, CEO of British Cycling, added: “While there is still a great deal of work to do, today is another important milestone in our journey and reflective of the enormous goodwill and support which major road cycling events continue to enjoy.

“Our primary focus has been to deliver a safe and competitive race in 2024, but we remain every bit as determined to harness the race’s spotlight to make a real impact in the communities which it touches and know that is a vision which resonates strongly in conversations with prospective commercial partners and hosts.”

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