The Women’s Tour, the UK’s leading international women’s cycling event, will break new ground when Dalby Forest and Guisborough host the race in June.
Stage three of this year’s event (Friday 9 June) will be the most challenging of the 2023 edition. It will also mark the most northerly day of racing the race will have held since launching nine years ago.
Home to over 8,500 acres of walking, running and cycle trails, the Forestry England site of Dalby Forest lends itself perfectly to hosting the Women’s Tour. While a new host venue to this event, it was the scene of a stage finish in the men’s Tour of Britain in 2008.
Guisborough is also no stranger to cycling, having previously welcomed rounds of the Tour Series circuit race event in 2021 and 2022.
Ed Woollard, Head of Recreation and Public Affairs at Forestry England Yorkshire, said:
“Dalby Forest is a well renowned destination for cycling, so we’re thrilled to be hosting this stage of the Women’s Tour – and being the furthest north they have travelled with this race!
“We’re so lucky to have such a stunning, varied landscape here in Dalby and over the North York Moors which we’re excited to showcase. There has never been a more prominent time to champion women in sport so we’re delighted to be supporting and bringing this to our visitors.”
Councillor Louise Westbury, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Culture, said:
“I am thrilled to welcome the Women’s Tour to Redcar and Cleveland on Friday, June 9, when elite women cyclists will weave their way across the North York Moors from Dalby Forest to Guisborough.
“The race will provide the opportunity to attract visitors to the town and showcase what the area has to offer while hopefully providing the inspiration to women and girls to become more active and get into sport.
“I would urge people from across the area to come along to Guisborough on what is sure to be a fantastic day of elite racing and wider sporting and cultural activity.”
More details of the stage three route will be announced in the coming weeks.
A free-to-watch spectacle that showcases its host regions and promotes community activities along the race route, the Women’s Tour continues to form part of the prestigious UCI Women’s World Tour series of events.
Last year’s race averaged a daily roadside attendance of 60,000 spectators and delivered an economic boost of over £1m to local economies.
Mick Bennett, Women’s Tour race director, said:
“We are very excited to be bringing the Women’s Tour to North Yorkshire for the first time in what is sure to be a very popular, and action-filled, day of racing.
“It is great to be working with Forestry England, the North York Moors National Park and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council once again. We know that they are huge supporters of our events and I thank them all for their efforts.”
The Women’s Tour 2023 will begin in Warwickshire on Wednesday 7 June and will continue with a stage between Northampton and Ampthill (Thursday 8 June). The penultimate stage of the race (Saturday 10 June) takes place between Coleshill and Derby, creating a Midlands doubleheader to end the event, as this year’s champion will be crowned following a spectacular circuit race around the centre of Birmingham on Sunday 11 June.
This year’s Women’s Tour has already attracted the support of cottages.com, Brother UK, Accurist and cycleGuard. Organisers hope that today’s route announcement will generate additional commercial interest in the race, with event title, jersey, and stage specific sponsorships available for selected stages. Visit womenstour.co.uk/partners/commercial-opportunities for more information.
Launched in 2014, the award-winning event was the UK’s first international women’s stage race for women. Heralded as a game-changer in the journey towards gender equality in sport, previous winners of the Women’s Tour include Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016, 2019) and Elisa Longo Borghini (2022).
Further details of this year’s race, including competing teams, leaders’ jerseys and stage routes, will be revealed in the coming weeks.
The 2023 Women’s Tour stages
Stage one Wednesday 7 June Stratford-upon-Avon to Royal Leamington Spa
Stage two Thursday 8 June Northampton to Ampthill
Stage three Friday 9 June Dalby Forest to Guisborough
Stage four Saturday 10 June Coleshill to Derby
Stage five Sunday 11 June Birmingham city centre circuit race