'It's come full circle' - Lizzie Deignan signs off at final Tour of Britain Women

“Time to retire,” Lizzie Deignan responds when it’s pointed out to her that no rider has raced the Tour of Britain Women more times than she has. Of the ten editions of the race, she has competed in eight and won two. However, this year, it was one final lap for the rider who has spearheaded women’s cycling in the UK for the past decade, as she prepares to retire at the end of this season.

The 36-year-old has been competing in the women’s elite peloton since 2007 and was proud to race on British soil one final time, especially as the Tour of Britain Women kicked off at home in Yorkshire before winding its way north to a finish in Glasgow on Sunday.

“It feels like it's come full circle. Obviously I started off racing here in the UK, so it's nice to get one final race here,” Deignan told Cycling Weekly at the start of stage three in Kelso.

The Brit was a constant feature during the four stages, working on the front for her Lidl-Trek team and claiming the combativity award on stage three.

After the finish in Glasgow, she broke down in tears, overcome with emotion on completing her final Tour of Britain Women.

Deignan announced her retirement last November, before the 2025 season got underway. She is now on a year-long lap of honour after a hugely successful career which has included World Championship and Paris-Roubaix Femmes titles, as well as an Olympic silver medal from London 2012.

This season, her role has been centred on supporting her team’s leaders and soaking up every enjoyable moment she can.

“It's been really nice, to be honest. Knowing that every race that I do is my last time, even on bad days I force myself to enjoy it because I won't get to do this again. I'm looking at the positives every race I do and just enjoying it," she said.

Women’s cycling is almost unrecognisable from how it was when Deignan entered the peloton almost two decades ago. The sport is more professional, more competitive, and the women’s scene in the UK is bigger than ever.

Deignan is pleased to be passing on the baton at a time when there are so many strong young British talents emerging, including the likes of Cat Ferguson, who, at only 19 years old, placed a close second overall at the Tour of Britain.

“It's night and day different,” Deignan said in comparing the two eras. “The women's scene is really strong in the UK, we've got quite a few domestic teams.

"Obviously the next generation of women coming through, Cat, Imogen [Wolff], Carys [Lloyd], Anna [Henderson], Pfeiffer [Georgi], Zoe [Bäckstedt] - the list is endless. That is totally different to when I was coming through.

"I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over.”