The Women's Tour 2021: everything you need to know

The best riders in the women's peloton are set to be racing around the south east of England for the sixth edition of the Women's Tour including the first ever individual time trial in the race.

The 2021 Women's Tour will take place between October 4 and 9 with six stages. The prize fund was bumped up to equal the men's Tour of Britain with the original €35,000 (£31,000) increasing to €90,000 (£80,000).

In 2016 the race was given UCI Women's WorldTour which means it is part of the top-level group of international races with all of the biggest teams have to take part.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the last edition was won by Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) who took her first win since returning from her career break to have a baby.

Deignan returns as defending champion just two days after winning the first ever women's Paris-Roubaix.

Women's Tour 2021 route

The route for the 2021 Women's Tour has been fully announced with the race starting on October 4 in Bicester and take in the route planned for 2020 before it was cancelled.

Stage two takes in a loop around the town of Walsall before stage three and the first-ever time trial at the race, taking place around Atherstone in Warwickshire.

The fourth stage starts in Shoeburyness before finishing in the coastal town of Southend-on-Sea. The penultimate day of stage five has and its a trip to the Essex seaside with a stage from Colchester to Clacton.

Finally, the last stage is between Haverhill and Felixstowe with the Suffolk roads bringing the race to a close.

We will add stage profiles when they become available.

Women's Tour 2021 live TV

There are no live images of the 2021 race despite saying there would be earlier in the year. There will be highlights available on ITV4, ITV Hub, Eurosport, Eurosport.com and GCN+ in the UK.

Women's Tour 2021 start list

Trek-Segafredo 

Lizzie Deignan (GBr)
Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Fra)
Elisa Longo-Borghini (Ita)
Trixi Worrack (Ger)
Chloe Hosking (Aus)

Alé-BTC-Ljubljana 

Marta Bastianelli (Ita)
Sophie Wright (GBr)
Eugenia Bujak (Slo)
Maaike Boogaard (Ned)

AWOL-O'Shea 

Hannah Bayes (GBr)
Francesca Morgans-Slader (GBr)
Connie Hayes (GBr)
Olivia Bent (GBr)
Alice Lethbridge (GBr)
Phoebe Martin (GBr)

CAMS-Basso Bikes 

Hayler Simmonds (GBr)
Natalie Grinczer (GBr)
Emma Edwards (USA)
Becky Storrie (GBr)
Katie Scott (GBr)
Jessica Finney (GBr)

Canyon-SRAM Racing 

Hannah Barnes (GBr)
Alice Barnes (GBr)
Ella Harris (NZl)
Elise Chabbey (Sui)

Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur 

Joss Lowden (GBr)
Anna Christian (GBr)
April Tacey (GBr)
Alice Towers (GBr)
Dani Christmas (GBr)
Maria Van't Geloof (Ned)

FDJ Nouvella-Aquitaine Futuroscope 

Eugénie Duval (Fra)
Maëlle Grossetête (Fra)
Évita Muzic (Fra)
Clara Copponi (Fra)
Jade Wiel (Fra)
Victorie Guilman (Fra)

Liv Racing 

Soraya Paladin (Ita)
Alison Jackson (Can)
Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita)
Jeane Korevaar (Ned)
Evy Kuijpers (Ned)

Movistar Team 

Aude Biannic (Fra)
Lourdes Oyarbide (Esp)
Alicia González (Esp)
Jelena Erić (Srb)
Gloria Rodríguez (Esp)
Sheyla Gutiérrez (Esp)

Parkhotel Valkenburg 

Amber van der Hulst (Ned)
Pien Limpens (Ned)
Mischa Bredewold (Ned)
Femke Gerritse (Ned)
Kirstie van Haaften (Ned)
Femke Markus (Ned)

Team SD Worx 

Demi Vollering (Ned)
Amy Pieters (Ned)
Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (Ned)
Anna Shackley (GBr)
Christine Majerus (Lux)
Elena Checchini (Ita)

Team BikeExchange 

Teniel Campbell (TTo)
Sarah Roy (Aus)
Ane Santesteban (Esp)
Jessica Allen (Aus)
Lucy Kennedy (Aus)
Janneke Ensing (Ned)

Team DSM 

Lorena Wiebes (Ned)
Pfeiffer Georgi (GBr)
Liane Lippert (Ger)
Megan Jastrab (USA)
Leah Kirchmann (Can)
Juliette Labous (Fra)

Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 

Lauren Stephens (USA)
Abi Smith (GBr)
Veronica Ewers (USA)
Nina Kessler (Ned)
Nicole Frain (Aus)
Tanja Erath (Ger)

Valcar-Travel & Service

Elisa Balsamo (Ita)
Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita)
Chiara Consonni (Ita)
Elena Pirrone (Ita)
Margaux Vigie (Fra)

Team Coop-Hitec Products

Josie Nelson (GBr)
Emma Boogaard (Ned)
Pernile Feldmann (Nor)
Mari Hole Mohr (Nor)
Ingvild Gaskjenn (Nor)
Caroline Andersson (Swe)

Women's Tour 2021 jerseys

There will be five classifications available to compete for in 2021.

The star prize at the Women's Tour is the blue jersey, awarded to the leader of the General Classification. In 2019, this went to Lizzie Deignan when it was green.

Other honours include the Points jersey, with points going to the top 15 - this also went to Deignan in 2019. The Sprints jersey celebrates the leader of the intermediate sprints, which was also awarded to Rivera in the last edition.

The Queen of the Mountains jersey is awarded to the rider who takes the most points on designated climbs and the Best British rider gets a jersey to show their status. The best team is the final main award to fight for.

Women’s Tour: previous winners

2020: No race due to Covid-19 pandemic
2019: Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
2018: Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb
2017: Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) WM3 Pro Cycling
2016: Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Boels-Dolmans
2015: Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Velocio-SRAM
2014: Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Women Cycling Team