'It's big and it's stressful and it's going to be absolutely mad' - British Continental teams poised for WorldTour test at Tour of Britain

Britain’s domestic teams are looking to "bring their A-game" at the Tour of Britain Women this week, as they pit themselves against the big-budget squads of the WorldTour.

All five of the country’s Continental teams – CJ O’Shea Racing, DAS-Hutchinson, Handsling Alba Development Road Team, Hess, and Smurfit Westrock – will compete in the four-day race, which starts today in Dalby Forest, and finishes in Glasgow on Sunday.

For the British squads, none of which are professional, the event is a valuable chance to show off sponsors and gain experience against some of the best riders in the world.

"It’s big and it’s stressful and it’s going to be absolutely mad," says Smurfit rider Lucy Harris, "but it’s an incredible opportunity at the same time. You have to make the most of it."

Harris, who won the CiCLE Classic this March, balances her racing with a full-time job as a meteorological data scientist. She returns to the Tour of Britain this year after making her debut in 2024, when she won the combativity prize on the first stage. "It was insane," she says. "I remember that Lizzie Deignan was up there [on the podium] as the Queen of the Mountains and she looked at me and said well done and I nearly burst into tears."

For Alba’s Lauren Dickson, the Tour of Britain will mark her first WorldTour event, and only her third ever stage race. The 25-year-old won the Lincoln GP last month, finished third at the recent Tour of Norway, and says she “can’t wait” to test herself against the 12 WorldTour teams.

"I’d really like to be in the breakaways and see how close to a podium that we can get," Dickson said. "If you want to be the best, then you have to be able to compete with the best. You have to believe in yourself, but you also have to learn from it. It’ll be a huge learning experience for everybody. We’ll have to bring our A-game."

This year’s race is particularly important for Alba, a squad with a Scottish core hopeful of performing on home roads. The team recently won their first international UCI race at the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic, but the Tour of Britain remains the centrepiece of their season.

"We’re looking to be seen in the race," says Alba manager Bob Lyons. "It’s tough down here getting budget, and we need exposure. We’re trying to get as much exposure as we can, and that’s a great opportunity for us in Scotland [on stages three and four]. It’s good for sponsors."

The same feeling is echoed by DAS-Hutchinson directeur sportif Olly Moors, who says the race is "massive" for his team’s partners. Already this season, DAS-Hutchinson have raced the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race, two of the calendar’s biggest WorldTour one-day events, gaining valuable experience and exposure.

"At Flanders, we were in the breakaway for over 100km, and the engagement we got off that was huge. Our sponsors absolutely loved that," Moors says. "Those races force you, not just the team itself but the riders as well, to step up. We held our own and we’re proud of that."

Moors estimates that the average WorldTour squad operates on a budget around 30 times bigger than his team’s. It’s a daunting prospect, he says, but it shouldn’t deter his riders or those of the other Continental teams from racing aggressively. "You’ve got to mix ambition with reality," the DAS-Hutchinson DS says.

"It’s about finding that perfect sweet spot between the two. We would ambitiously love to have a rider perform well. I think really our best chances are a stage result and then looking at early breakaways, getting ahead of the race." As for the general classification, Moors adds, placing a rider in the top 30 would be a "great outcome".

The Tour of Britain Women begins today and is available to watch free on the BBC.