The provisional startlist for the inaugural Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women has today been revealed with two days to go until the Grand Départ in Welshpool on Thursday.
Road world champion Lotte Kopecky of Team SD Worx - Protime is among the 90 riders set to take on Britain’s biggest and toughest women’s international stage race, from Thursday 6 June to Sunday 9 June.
Kopecky will be joined by teammate Lorena Wiebes who dominated the 2024 RideLondon Classique earlier this month by sprinting to victory on all three stages.
Team dsm–firmenich PostNL have confirmed that British national champion, Pfeiffer Georgi - who finished third at the Paris-Roubaix Femmes this year - will have the opportunity to race on home soil and enjoy the support of British crowds.
The Netherlands-based team will also feature their main sprint finisher, Charlotte Kool, who joined Wiebes on the podium at the RideLondon Classique. The 25-year-old had no fewer than 13 victories in the 2023 season and will be looking to add to that at this year’s Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women.
Olympic medallists Lizzie Deignan and Elinor Barker will headline the Great Britain Cycling Team squad, announced last week. Welsh riders Barker and teammate Elynor Bäckstedt are expected to receive a warm welcome on stages one and two which take place on some of Wales’ most challenging roads.
Human Powered Health have named former British national champion, Alice Wood among its six riders. Strong in a sprint, Wood will be looking forward to some familiar roads on stage three which feature regularly in her training rides.
Elsewhere, a strong line-up of UCI Women’s Continental riders has been confirmed, including current Lloyds Bank National Road Series leader Lucy Harris (Pro-Noctis - 200° Coffee - Hargreaves Contracting), who will be riding at UCI Continental status for the first time as a recent signing for the team. Eilidh Shaw (Alba Road Development Team) will be in hot contention for the young rider’s jersey, with the 19-year-old taking podium finishes in two of the first three national rounds so far this season. Alice McWilliam (Hess Cycling) will also be one to watch, having finished on the podium at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic in March.
The Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women will feature 15 teams of six riders, made up of 21 different nationalities.
The race gets underway in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June before travelling to Wrexham in mid-Wales for stage two. The peloton will then travel across the Welsh border to Warrington for stage three before the race culminates in Greater Manchester on Sunday 9 June.
Tour of Britain Race Director, Rod Ellingworth, said:
“Today we can unveil an exceptional line-up of stars for the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women. These world-class riders will serve as an inspiration to the fans we’re expecting to line the streets of each stage, and to those watching from home. A race is nothing without its riders and we can’t wait to see the passion and excitement they’ll bring to every stage later this week.”
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women provisional startlist:
ALBA Development Road Team
Caitlin Dimbleby
Arianne Holland
Beth Morrow
Abi Plowman
Eilidh Shaw
Amelia Tyler
Cofidis
Alana Castrique
Spela Kern
Nikola Koskova
Lise Menage
Josie Talbot
Kirsite van Haaften
DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK
Tiffany Keep
Lucy Lee
Caoimhe O’Brien
Darcie Richards
Alice Sharpe
Ruth Shier
Doltcini O’Shea
Isabel Darvil
Jessica Finney
S’Annara Grove
Tilde Hammarström
Connie Hayes
Hayley Simmonds
Great Britain Cycling Team
Elinor Barker
Elynor Bäckstedt
Millie Couzens
Lizzie Deignan
Anna Henderson
Flora Perkins
Hess Cycling Team
Sara Casasola
Nicole Frain
Rotem Gafinovitz
Grace Lister
Alice McWilliam
Apolonia van ‘t Geloof
Human Powered Health
Henrietta Christie
Krista Doebel-Hickok
Marit Raaijmakers
Katia Ragusa
Alice Wood
Lina Zanetti
Lifeplus Wahoo
Alicia Blanco Gonzalez
Heidi Franz
Maddie Leech
Kaja Rysz
Karin Soderqvist
Babette van der Wolf
Liv-AlUla-Jayco
Georgia Baker
Teniel Campbell
Jeanne Korevaar
Amber Pate
Letizia Paternoster
Ruby Roseman-Gannon
St Michel - Mavic - Auber93
Marion Bunel
Camille Fahy
Roxane Fournier
Victorie Guilman
Célia Le Mouel
Dilyxine Miermont
Pro-Noctis - 200° Coffee - Hargreaves Contracting
Bexy Dew
Lucy Gadd
Amy Gornall
Lucy Harris
Zoe Langham
Joanna Tindley
Team SD Worx - Protime
Chantal Broek-Blaak Van Den
Elena Cecchini
Barbara Guarischi
Lotte Kopecky
Christine Majerus
Lorena Wiebes
Team dsm–firmenich PostNL
Rachele Barbieri
Pfeiffer Georgi
Daniek Hengeveld
Franziska Koch
Charlotte Kool
Abi Smith
Torelli
Kim Baptista
Neah Evans
Annamarie Lipp
Bronwyn MacGregor
Oliwia Majewska
Lucy Nelson
Volkerwessels Women’s Pro Cyling Team
Valerie Demey
Eline Jansen
Anne Knijnenburg
Scarlett Souren
Sabrina Stultiens
Margot Vanpachtenbeke
AG Insurance - Soudal who were initially confirmed to field an U23 UCI Women’s Continental team have withdrawn
