Women’s Tour in danger of being cancelled as organisers make urgent plea for sponsors

Organisers of the Women’s Tour have issued an urgent appeal for sponsorship of the 2023 edition of the race, on the same day that they revealed this year's route – with reports suggesting that if new backing is not secured, the event may have to be cancelled.

First held in 2014, June will see the ninth running of the UCI Women’s World Tour race, with the 2020 edition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most recently, the headline sponsor of the race was sponsored by Ovo Energy, but the company’s backing finished at the end of 2019 and unless a replacement is found, there is a risk that this year’s race will not take place with the Guardian reporting that organisers SweetSpot face a £500,000 funding shortfall.

According to today’s route announcement, the race will start in Stratford-upon-Avon on Wednesday 7 June and finish the following Sunday with a circuit race in Birmingham City Centre, with stage starts and finishes in Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, North Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the West Midlands.

Stage 1 – Wednesday 7 June    
Stratford-upon-Avon to Royal Leamington Spa

Stage 2 – Thursday 8 June        
Northampton to Ampthill

Stage 3 – Friday 9 June             
Dalby Forest to Guisborough

Stage 4 – Saturday 10 June      
Coleshill to Derby

Stage 5 – Sunday 11 June         
Birmingham city centre circuit race

But while the race has attracted backing from cottages.com, Brother UK, Accurist and cycleGuard, organisers SweetSpot say that this year’s edition “urgently requires additional commercial income for the 2023 edition.”

The company says that “as well as the title sponsorship of the event, three of the race’s four prestigious jersey classifications (leader, mountains, and best young rider) remain available, while individual stage partnership packages (including naming rights) have been launched for the first time for selected stages. The search for an auto partner to supply vehicles also continues.”

SweetSpot expressed hope that “today’s route announcement will generate additional commercial interest in the race,” with anyone considering backing it invited to visit the relevant page on its website.

Race director Mick Bennett said: “While it seems like only yesterday that we were crowning Elisa Longo Borghini as our 2022 champion following that dramatic finale in Oxford, it feels fantastic to unveil the stages for this year’s Women’s Tour.

“Given the current economic climate, we have had to work harder than ever before to put together a race befitting of the world’s best teams and riders, so I must thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support of the event.

“We look forward to seeing engaged communities, packed towns, and crowded cities at this year’s race. See you all in June!”

Whether that happens looks likely to depend on the race bringing new sponsorship on board, with the Guardian reporting that SweetSpot has set what is termed as a ‘soft deadline’ of mid-April for that to happen, to enable accommodation to be booked and final details of the stages to be agreed with the local authorities concerned.