British Cycling steers Tour of Britain Women to late-summer slot in 2026
British Cycling hopes the move will "further amplify the extraordinary buzz around the recent Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, continuously building the event and engaging a growing audience through the joy of cycling"
British Cycling has obtained Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) approval to move the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to 20 – 23 August 2026, abandoning the race’s long-standing early-June position in the Women’s WorldTour calendar. The new dates, confirmed in the schedule ratified by the UCI Management Committee this week, place the women’s event just before the men’s Tour of Britain, which traditionally runs in early September.
“There are many examples across the UCI calendar of men’s and women’s events overlapping or coming closer together to create maximum impact,” a British Cycling spokesperson said in a statement to The British Continental. “We considered several date options and decided that bringing the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women closer to the men’s race will enable us to increase visibility and generate enhanced cut-through with two major showpiece events brought together within a matter of weeks.”
The governing body added that it had “been working with the UCI to facilitate this change” and believed that late-summer timing would “further amplify the extraordinary buzz around the recent Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, continuously building the event and engaging a growing audience through the joy of cycling.”
2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The calendar move is the latest stage in British Cycling’s rebuild of Britain’s flagship women’s stage race. The federation took control of both the men’s and women’s Tours in January 2024 after former organiser Sweetspot entered liquidation, a situation that left the events’ futures in doubt.
Chief executive Jon Dutton OBE has previously said he will seek UCI permission to expand the women’s race to six stages in future editions to achieve parity with the men’s event. While the 2026 women’s Tour remains a four-day race, British Cycling will hope that an August slot strengthens the commercial case for eventual expansion by offering warmer weather, a less congested international calendar and the potential for closer alignment with the men’s race.
The reshuffle comes as Britain’s Women’s WorldTour portfolio contracts. The RideLondon Classique dropped off the 2025 calendar when organisers cancelled the event, saying a UCI-imposed date change made it unworkable. With RideLondon remaining on hiatus, the Tour of Britain Women will be the United Kingdom’s sole Women’s WorldTour stage race in 2026, amplifying the importance of British Cycling’s late-summer showcase.
By initiating the calendar change itself and weaving the women’s race into a compact domestic finale, British Cycling aims to deliver what it calls “two major, showpiece events” in quick succession, potentially laying the groundwork for a longer Tour of Britain Women in the years ahead.
British Cycling has obtained Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) approval to move the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to 20 – 23 August 2026, abandoning the race’s long-standing early-June position in the Women’s WorldTour calendar. The new dates, confirmed in the schedule ratified by the UCI Management Committee this week, place the women’s event just before the men’s Tour of Britain, which traditionally runs in early September.
“There are many examples across the UCI calendar of men’s and women’s events overlapping or coming closer together to create maximum impact,” a British Cycling spokesperson said in a statement to The British Continental. “We considered several date options and decided that bringing the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women closer to the men’s race will enable us to increase visibility and generate enhanced cut-through with two major showpiece events brought together within a matter of weeks.”
The governing body added that it had “been working with the UCI to facilitate this change” and believed that late-summer timing would “further amplify the extraordinary buzz around the recent Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, continuously building the event and engaging a growing audience through the joy of cycling.”
The calendar move is the latest stage in British Cycling’s rebuild of Britain’s flagship women’s stage race. The federation took control of both the men’s and women’s Tours in January 2024 after former organiser Sweetspot entered liquidation, a situation that left the events’ futures in doubt.
Chief executive Jon Dutton OBE has previously said he will seek UCI permission to expand the women’s race to six stages in future editions to achieve parity with the men’s event. While the 2026 women’s Tour remains a four-day race, British Cycling will hope that an August slot strengthens the commercial case for eventual expansion by offering warmer weather, a less congested international calendar and the potential for closer alignment with the men’s race.
The reshuffle comes as Britain’s Women’s WorldTour portfolio contracts. The RideLondon Classique dropped off the 2025 calendar when organisers cancelled the event, saying a UCI-imposed date change made it unworkable. With RideLondon remaining on hiatus, the Tour of Britain Women will be the United Kingdom’s sole Women’s WorldTour stage race in 2026, amplifying the importance of British Cycling’s late-summer showcase.
By initiating the calendar change itself and weaving the women’s race into a compact domestic finale, British Cycling aims to deliver what it calls “two major, showpiece events” in quick succession, potentially laying the groundwork for a longer Tour of Britain Women in the years ahead.
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
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