Firstly, there’s a farewell to Lizzie Deignan, the former world champion and two-time winner of the Women’s Tour, who is retiring at the end of the season. She’ll share the peloton in her final edition with the newest crop of British talent. Look out for Movistar’s Cat Ferguson and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Imogen Wolff, both proudly from Yorkshire, who are set for teenage debuts in their home county.
Indeed, some might argue that this year’s route is less a Tour of Britain, and more a voyage through Yorkshire and Scotland. This might come to the chagrin of southern fans, though northerners will say they’ve had it easy over the years. Step aside London, Saltburn and Glasgow are centre stage now. Roll out the tartan carpet and fire up the bagpipes.
The Tour of Britain Women is the only WorldTour race in the UK this year – the men’s equivalent is ranked as a ProSeries event, and the RideLondon Classique is on hiatus – so cherish it while it lasts. First stop, Dalby Forest.
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(Image credit: British Cycling/Tour of Britain Women)
Humans have lived in Dalby Forest since the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago, but it’s only this year that the area welcomes its first Tour of Britain Women stage, trusted with the honour of getting the whole race rolling. Tracing through the heart of the North York Moors National Park, the opening day is a short one – just 81.5km long – with a two-and-a-half-hour blitz expected to the coast. “These roads are hard,” said Picnic PostNL’s Abi Smith, who grew up training in the area. “It is very remote, but the views are stunning.”
With so few kilometres to race, and despite the punishing slopes of Langburn Bank at the halfway mark, it might be hard to shake the sprinters before the flat finish in Redcar. It was here, on Yorkshire’s blustery seafront, that Stevie Williams won a stage of the men’s race last year.
Stage two Friday 6 June Hartlepool > Saltburn-by-the-Sea (114.3km) Start: 11:00 Finish: 13:42
(Image credit: British Cycling/Tour of Britain Women)
Followers of UK racing will already be well acquainted with Saltburn-by-the-Sea, the coastal town whose ‘Bank’ has hosted the last two National Road Championships. The same climb, with its duo of hairpins and 15% gradients, comes twice in the finale of stage two, the finish line drawn after the second ascent. It was on Saltburn Bank that Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) earned back-to-back national road titles, but in the absence of the British champion, attention might turn to 19-year-old junior world champion Cat Ferguson, who conquered the same slopes to win the East Cleveland Classic in 2024, and on her team’s spare bike, too.
Setting off from Hartlepool, among the boats of the town’s marina, the riders will start and finish their day with a taste of sea air. Whoever sails to victory might well win the entire race.
Stage three Saturday 7 June Kelso > Kelso (143.8km) Start: 11:15 Finish: 14:39
(Image credit: British Cycling/Tour of Britain Women)
Starting and finishing in the town of Kelso, today's stage represents the first time that either the Tour of Britain Women or its predecessor the Women's Tour has ventured north of the border and into Scotland.
There will be no gentle introduction either – this third stage is the hardest of the race and has the potential to cement the GC in place over its very hilly 143.8km.
The stage will be based on three loops to the south and north-west of the town, and the riders will encounter five classified ascents along the way.
The key appointment is likely to be the second ascent of the cat-one Dingleton climb, which leaves riders with 23 lumpy kilometres to battle it out to the finish and is perfect breakaway territory.
Kelso may be famous for its racecourse, but this stage is sure to see plenty of jockeying for position of the two-wheeled kind, with someone hoping to win at a canter.
Stage four Sunday 8 June Glasgow > Glasgow (82.2km) Start: 10:00 Finish: 11:56
(Image credit: British Cycling/Tour of Britain Women)
Anyone who remembers the Glasgow World Championships from two years ago (and if you don't, where were you?) will know how capable this Scottish city is of putting on a great bike racing show.
While the best rouleurs and climbers in the race will be hoping their work over the past few days will be enough to secure their GC spots, there is still all to play for on what is a technical city-centre outing.
Riders will take on 10 laps of an 8.4km rectangular circuit that is largely flat but features nine hard turns, some in quick succession – enough to sow a little chaos within the bunch.
The city-centre location should make for thrilling racing and good sized crowds, with the best sprinters in the race looking to come to the fore but having to battle against the sneaky breakaways in order to grab the glory.
Since its inception in 2014 as the Women’s Tour, the Tour of Britain has been a happy hunting ground for sprinters, but none have ever managed to win the General Classification, the race more suited to the all-rounder. This year’s edition, though, could well see unquestionably the world’s best sprinter, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), take overall honours.
Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Lidl-Trek
Lizzie Deignan is the only woman to have won the Tour of Britain Women, including its forebear race, more than once, taking the title in both 2016 and ’19, and, with retirement a matter of months away, a third success would be the perfect close to her stellar career.
Kim Le Court (Mus) AG Insurance-Soudal
If persistence alone won races, Kim Le Court would permanently be on the top step. The Mauritian champion only returned to road racing last year after an extended and successful period mountain bike racing, where she won the Cape Epic, among others. This year she won Liège-Bastogne-Liège after an impressive ride.
Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Oatly
While that gold medal-winning ride at the Olympics last summer might be her highest profile victory, Kristen Faulkner has long been one of the peloton’s best breakaway riders, proving herself as the woman most likely to take a mile if given an inch.
Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar
Britain and the WorldTour’s new next best thing, Cat Ferguson is most certainly the real deal. Signing for Movistar as a stagiaire last year, she promptly repaid the Spanish squad’s faith with two victories. This year she won the Navarra Classic.
Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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