The UK's first international stage race for women was planned to run between June 7-12 with organisers SweetSpot working with the UCI and British Cycling to propose alternate race dates of October 4-9
Tuesday 16 February 2021 08:47, UK
The 2021 Women's Tour scheduled for June has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, organisers have announced.
Created in 2014 as the UK's first international stage race for women, this year's event was planned to run between June 7-12 with organisers SweetSpot working with the UCI and British Cycling to re-arrange for later in the year.
Alternate race dates of October 4-9 have been requested with full details of the 2021 route announced when the dates are confirmed by the UCI.
The race, which forms a part of the prestigious UCI Women's WorldTour, starts in Bicester, Oxfordshire and finishes with a stage from Haverhill to Felixstowe in Suffolk.
The Women's Tour has been won by the likes of Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016, 2019) and Coryn Rivera (2018) and attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000 as well as over three million fans through linear and online platforms.
Commenting on the announcement, Race Director Mick Bennett said, "We are obviously disappointed to be postponing the Women's Tour from June but hope that by aiming to stage the race in October we can give the teams and public something to look forward to at the tail end of the summer."
British Cycling Head of Sport and Major Events, Jonathan Day, added: "We know just how important the Women's Tour is for our teams and riders, and it's been fantastic to see the race go from strength to strength over recent years, becoming a mainstay of the British sporting calendar.
"We are working closely with SweetSpot and the UCI to confirm the proposed date change and look forward to welcoming the world's best riders to the opening stage in Oxfordshire later this year."
