The door opens: all four British Conti teams to race the Tour of Britain Women
Nineteen teams will line up at the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women in August, including DAS–Hutchinson, Handsling Alba, O'Shea Red Chilli Bikes, and Smurfit Westrock — the domestic squads whose participation looked in serious doubt when new UCI eligibility rules were published last summer.
All four British UCI Continental teams will race the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, British Cycling confirmed today — ending a year of uncertainty that began when new UCI rules appeared to bar third-tier teams from Women’s WorldTour start lists altogether.
DAS–Hutchinson, Handsling Alba Development Road Team, O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes, and Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team are among 19 teams announced for the five-stage race, which runs from Cockermouth to Royal Leamington Spa on 19–23 August, taking in a summit finish on the Great Orme along the way. They are joined by Norway’s Hitec Products–Fluid Control and a Great Britain national squad, alongside a record-equalling 13 Women’s WorldTour teams — nine of the world’s top 10, headed by defending champions FDJ United-Suez, whose Ally Wollaston won overall in 2025.
Jo Tindley of Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
As The British Continentalreported last July, the UCI’s revised entry rules for 2026 removed Women’s Continental teams from the standard start list for WorldTour events, permitting their invitation only if fewer than 15 WorldTeams and ProTeams had accepted 30 days before the race. With any WorldTeam vacancies to be filled by ProTeams rather than Continental squads, the arithmetic suggested British teams would be locked out of their only home WorldTour race — a prospect team managers described at the time as “a slap in the face”.
In the event, the door opened. No ProTeams appear among the 2026 entries, leaving the top-two-tier field at 13 — below the 15-team threshold at which Continental invitations become permissible. It follows a season in which the new rule has been applied loosely across the calendar: Continental teams started the UAE Tour Women and Trofeo Alfredo Binda despite full-strength fields, and June’s Copenhagen Sprint featured six.
– Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team).Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
“We are really pleased to be included in this year’s Tour of Britain, which will be our third time competing at the race,” Smurfit Westrock team manager Rick Lister told The British Continental. “As a British team it’s important for our partners to see us racing in the UK, and we hope to make them proud. We are looking forward to knowing the route.” Detailed stage routes are still to be published, with British Cycling having confirmed the host venues in June.
Handsling Alba manager Bob Lyons, quoted in the announcement, called the race “a huge highlight” for his team. “It is our only WorldTour race on home soil and a unique chance for our sponsors, supporters and anyone taking an interest in the team to see us race in person,” he said. “The five stages will provide exactly the kind of experience and exposure our team needs to continue to pioneer athlete development to elevate riders to the Women’s WorldTour.”
– Matilda McKibben (O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes). Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Race director Alice Wood said the line-up “brings together an exciting mix of elite teams and ambitious development squads” and promised “highly competitive racing from the start in Cockermouth to the finish in Royal Leamington Spa”.
The 2026 edition is the first in which the women’s race matches the men’s at five stages. Of the 14 registered Women’s WorldTeams, only EF Education-Oatly is absent from the entry list.
The full line-up:
Team
Country
Tier
AG Insurance-Soudal
Belgium
Women’s WorldTour
Canyon//SRAM
Germany
Women’s WorldTour
FDJ United-Suez
France
Women’s WorldTour
Fenix-Premier Tech
Belgium
Women’s WorldTour
Human Powered Health
USA
Women’s WorldTour
Lidl-Trek
Germany
Women’s WorldTour
Liv AlUla Jayco
Australia
Women’s WorldTour
Movistar Team
Spain
Women’s WorldTour
Team Picnic PostNL
Netherlands
Women’s WorldTour
Team SD Worx–Protime
Netherlands
Women’s WorldTour
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Netherlands
Women’s WorldTour
UAE Team ADQ
UAE
Women’s WorldTour
Uno-X Mobility
Norway
Women’s WorldTour
DAS–Hutchinson
Great Britain
UCI Continental
Handsling Alba Development Road Team
Great Britain
UCI Continental
Hitec Products–Fluid Control
Norway
UCI Continental
O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes
Great Britain
UCI Continental
Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team
Great Britain
UCI Continental
Great Britain Cycling Team
Great Britain
National team
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com. Josie Knight (DAS-Hutchinson)
All four British UCI Continental teams will race the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, British Cycling confirmed today — ending a year of uncertainty that began when new UCI rules appeared to bar third-tier teams from Women’s WorldTour start lists altogether.
DAS–Hutchinson, Handsling Alba Development Road Team, O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes, and Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team are among 19 teams announced for the five-stage race, which runs from Cockermouth to Royal Leamington Spa on 19–23 August, taking in a summit finish on the Great Orme along the way. They are joined by Norway’s Hitec Products–Fluid Control and a Great Britain national squad, alongside a record-equalling 13 Women’s WorldTour teams — nine of the world’s top 10, headed by defending champions FDJ United-Suez, whose Ally Wollaston won overall in 2025.
As The British Continental reported last July, the UCI’s revised entry rules for 2026 removed Women’s Continental teams from the standard start list for WorldTour events, permitting their invitation only if fewer than 15 WorldTeams and ProTeams had accepted 30 days before the race. With any WorldTeam vacancies to be filled by ProTeams rather than Continental squads, the arithmetic suggested British teams would be locked out of their only home WorldTour race — a prospect team managers described at the time as “a slap in the face”.
In the event, the door opened. No ProTeams appear among the 2026 entries, leaving the top-two-tier field at 13 — below the 15-team threshold at which Continental invitations become permissible. It follows a season in which the new rule has been applied loosely across the calendar: Continental teams started the UAE Tour Women and Trofeo Alfredo Binda despite full-strength fields, and June’s Copenhagen Sprint featured six.
“We are really pleased to be included in this year’s Tour of Britain, which will be our third time competing at the race,” Smurfit Westrock team manager Rick Lister told The British Continental. “As a British team it’s important for our partners to see us racing in the UK, and we hope to make them proud. We are looking forward to knowing the route.” Detailed stage routes are still to be published, with British Cycling having confirmed the host venues in June.
Handsling Alba manager Bob Lyons, quoted in the announcement, called the race “a huge highlight” for his team. “It is our only WorldTour race on home soil and a unique chance for our sponsors, supporters and anyone taking an interest in the team to see us race in person,” he said. “The five stages will provide exactly the kind of experience and exposure our team needs to continue to pioneer athlete development to elevate riders to the Women’s WorldTour.”
Race director Alice Wood said the line-up “brings together an exciting mix of elite teams and ambitious development squads” and promised “highly competitive racing from the start in Cockermouth to the finish in Royal Leamington Spa”.
The 2026 edition is the first in which the women’s race matches the men’s at five stages. Of the 14 registered Women’s WorldTeams, only EF Education-Oatly is absent from the entry list.
The full line-up:
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com. Josie Knight (DAS-Hutchinson)
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