Tour of Britain uncertainty stalls RideLondon Classique expansion plan

The uncertainty over the future of the women's Tour of Britain may have stalled the planned expansion of the Ford RideLondon Classique in 2024, according to the race organiser, London Marathon Events.

Ford RideLondon had planned to add a day to the schedule for this year's edition of the Classique, but the demise of SweetSpot, former promoters of the men's and women's Tour of Britain, and the subsequent impasse over future scheduling, particularly of the women's race, scuppered that goal.

Speaking to the RadioCycling podcast and other media, Ford RideLondon Classique technical director Kevin Nash said: "There was uncertainty over what the calendar was doing. To get a timeline to put an extra day into the race, we needed to know the latest, by October time."

"We'd like to extend the event," race director Scott Sunderland confirmed. "We tried that for this year, to have an extra day. We will look at this further with British Cycling. We need to work with them on this."

But the lack of clarity towards late 2023, over the future scheduling and existence of the women's Tour of Britain, prevented the Classique from adding further stages.

"There wasn't a clear picture of what was going to be happening with the women's Tour at that point," Nash explained. "British Cycling and the UCI were reluctant to change or add to the calendar. We ran out of runway quite soon when that announcement did come through in the end."

This year's Ford RideLondon Classique (24-26 May) has attracted an all-star field that includes current world road champion Lotte Kopecky, top sprinter Charlotte Kool and former British and world champion, Lizzie Deignan, among others.

While final confirmation is awaited that the newly branded Tour of Britain Women is definitely going ahead, Deignan is among those motivated for the Classique in late May, which climaxes with a Sunday stage on the Mall in central London.

"I had such an amazing experience on the Mall in 2012," she said, of racing to a silver medal in the London 2012 Olympic road race. "It's very nostalgic for me to be able to race in RideLondon. It's not often I feel that patriotic but in London I do get that goosebumps effect."

You can hear more on the latest episode of the RadioCycling podcast.