Lancashire announced amongst hosts for Lloyds Tour of Britain Women 2026

The host venues for the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women have been revealed with the event starting in Cockermouth on Wednesday 19 August 2026 before concluding in Royal Leamington Spa for the overall finish on Sunday 23 August 2026. 

The 2026 edition, part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, will make a first visit to Cockermouth for the first of five stages that make up this year’s race before embarking on stages in Lancashire, North and Mid Wales, before it reaches its conclusion in Warwickshire, who host the overall finish of the race for the first time.

Cockermouth will open the 2026 women’s race with a challenging route through western Cumbria, starting and finishing in the picturesque market town. Stage two will see the riders travel from Clitheroe through the Ribble Valley to the iconic seaside resort of Blackpool. North and Mid Wales will then host two exciting stages on Friday and Saturday, from Mold to the Great Orme in Llandudno and from Llanidloes to Hay-on-Wye, before the General Classification is decided in Warwickshire, where Royal Leamington Spa will host the start and finish on Sunday 23 August.

Jonathan Day, Director of Events for British Cycling Ventures, said:

“We are excited to be bringing the prestigious Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to these fantastic locations in August. For the first time, there is parity in the number of stages with the men’s race a couple of weeks later, so it is a huge opportunity to create a real festival of cycling, with the women’s race kick-starting a brilliant few weeks of world class road racing.

“We are bringing new hosts and stages in Mold, Llanidloes, and Hay-on-Wye, and it is fantastic to return to previous hosts of the Tour in Cockermouth, Clitheroe, Blackpool, Llandudno and Leamington Spa, bringing real variety to each of the stages as we head across England and Wales.

“On behalf of British Cycling Ventures, I would like to say a huge thank you to our partners across the five stages for supporting the hosting and delivery of this August’s landmark race and enabling us to bring a memorable and action packed five days of world class racing to their communities, spreading the joy of cycling along the route, and inspiring more people to get on a bike and live healthier lives.”

The full list of stages is:

Stage 1: Cockermouth – Cockermouth

Stage 2: Clitheroe – Blackpool

Stage 3: Mold – The Great Orme, Llandudno

Stage 4: Llanidloes – Hay-on-Wye

Stage 5: Royal Leamington Spa – Royal Leamington Spa

This will be the first time Cumberland Council has hosted a modern-day Lloyds Tour of Britain Women’s stage, marking a milestone moment for the region. Cumbria as a county has a vast history of hosting major bike racing, bringing 12 previous stages of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men to the area, the last occasion in 2021.

The town of Cockermouth has experienced the buzz of race day twice before, hosting the men’s race twice in 2015 and 2018, the latter of which was a team time trial.

Another region making history in bringing the women’s race to their communities for the first time is Lancashire, with Clitheroe and Blackpool the start and finish hosts respectively for stage two.

Clitheroe previously hosted the men’s race in 2015, staging the start of a stage that finished in Colne which was the last time the Tour visited Lancashire. The county will also host stages of the Tour de France next summer, when Britain welcomes the Grand Départ.

The promenade at Blackpool has seen some of the greats of cycling race to stunning victories including Sir Mark Cavendish who won the stage in 2012, wearing his rainbow stripes of world champion. Blackpool has hosted three starts and five finishes to the Tour in the modern day, so has a rich heritage in providing a spectacular backdrop to enthralling bike racing.

Mold will host the start of a Tour race for the first time for stage three on Friday 21 August, but Flintshire has featured in stages of the men’s Tour in previous years. However, this will be their first hosting of the women’s race.

Lotte Kopecky was victorious on the promenade in Llandudno back in 2024, the last time the seaside town hosted the finish of a stage. With the Great Orme serving a hilly final ascent for the lead riders, the region provides both a challenging and spectacular course, bringing back memories of 2021, when Julian Alaphilippe and Wout van Aert battled for victory atop the headland in the men’s Tour.

Having previously hosted stages of both the women’s and men’s races in the region since 2010, Powys will once again welcome exhilarating riding to its roads in September. The locations of Llanidloes and Hay-on-Wye, the latter also famous for the Hay Festival – are brand new to hosting start and finishes of the Tour.

Welshpool, Powys is also hosting the start of stage three of the Tour de France Grand Départ in 2027 on Sunday 4 July 2027, so the Lloyds Tour of Britain will serve as a perfect appetiser for the region with world-class bike racing this summer.

The fifth and final stage heads to Warwickshire which has a long and strong tradition of hosting the Tour, bringing the women’s race to the county on five previous occasions, it’s last instalment in 2021 with an individual time trial in Atherstone. But this is the first time Warwickshire will host the finish of the race when the General Classification is settled.

2026 will see the return to Royal Leamington Spa which has twice hosted the finish to stage as part of the women’s Tour in both 2017 and 2018, with Australian’s Chloe Hosking and Sarah Roy victorious on those occasions.

British Cycling research, delivered by GSIQ, showed the 2025 Lloyds Tours of Britain brought an overall cumulative economic impact of £62.3 million to the local areas which hosted the ten stages, bringing huge social impact to communities across the country as well.

Further announcements, including the detailed routes for the five stages of the women’s and men’s race, will be announced in the coming weeks.

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