Women’s Tour will not be rescheduled for 2020

Bad news as the week-long event has been abandoned for the season

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 2020 Women’s Tour has been abandoned due to the coronavirus crisis.

Organiser of the prestigious British race SweetSpot Group has announced the event will not take place this year after initially being postponed from its planned date in June.

In mid-March, the organisers announced the 2020 edition would be delayed, but the six-stage race will instead return in June 2021, with plans the race will cover the route from Oxfordshire to Suffolk that had been planned for this year.

Hugh Roberts from SweetSpot said: “Following discussions with stakeholders and sponsors, as well as British Cycling and the UCI, we have decided to work towards June 2021 for the next edition of the Women’s Tour, and will not seek to re-arrange the race later in 2020.

“We recognise the unprecedented nature of the current global situation and the challenges for the UCI calendar and so wanted to take an early decision not to look for an alternative 2020 date.”

The Women’s Tour, won overall by Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) last season, is a popular event with amongst riders, who support its equal prize money with the men’s Tour of Britain and large crowds at the roadside.

Now looking to its eighth edition since being launched in 2014, the race has attracted star riders including Deignan, Marianne Vos and Coryn Rivera.

Roberts added: “With the extra time now available we look forward to making next year’s Women’s Tour even bigger and better than before and a fantastic celebration of cycling and Britain.

“We are now working with partners on our plans for the Women’s Tour to be live streamed for the first time in 2021 and are also exploring opportunities to bring the race closer to our fans than ever before in these challenging times, such as the opportunity to race and ride past stages on their home trainer.”

>>> Three Grand Tours in 71 days: A proposed new WorldTour calendar has been leaked 

The women’s cycling calendar has been turned on its head by the global coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of races cancelled or postponed.

International governing body the UCI has yet to announce its plans for the women’s cycling calendar.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.