The women’s peloton has completed a month of WorldTour racing in Spain at La Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia Women and Vuelta a Burgos across May, with many riders and teams travelling to the United Kingdom for the 10th edition of the Tour of Britain Women.
The racing will take place in the north-east of England and Scotland between June 5-8, and for the first time, head into Scotland with a finale in Glasgow, where the sprinters and flatter stage racing specialists are expected to have their moment to shine.
The peloton will cover a total of 423.6km with the opening two stages; a hilly affair from Dalby Forest to Redcar and then another lumpy course from Hartlepool to Saltburn-by-the-Sea, before heading to the south of Scotland for a leg in the Scottish Borders in Kelso, ahead of the final flat stage on a city centre circuit in Glasgow.
While there is climbing involved, the profiles appear not to be demanding enough to prevent the sprinters from excelling in this four-day race, and even the more challenging ascents are likely suited to the breakaway specialists and faster all-rounders.
Cyclingnews highlights just a few of the riders who could make an impact on both stage victories and in the overall classification.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
Defending champion Lotte Kopecky has opted not to return to the Tour of Britain Women this season as she prepares for her target at the Tour de France Femmes in July. However, SD Worx-Protime have a potential stage and overall winner in her teammate Lorena Wiebes.
Wiebes has proven to be one of the fastest sprinters in the WorldTour, as well as a strong climber across hilly terrain, often among breakaways and reduced selections that enter the finals in some of the biggest races.
Wiebes has won two stages of this event in 2021 and three more stages in the 2022 edition, as well as another stage win last year, where she finished tenth overall while riding in support of Kopecky.
This year, Wiebes will lead the team, supported by Barbara Guarischi, Femke Markus, Marta Lach, Julia Kopecky, and Skylar Schneider.
Elisa Balsamo & Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek)
Lidl-Trek line up with a strong team led by their sprinter Elisa Balsamo, but with a powerful second card to play in Anna Henderson, who finished second overall in last year’s edition.
The team will also include Lizzie Deignan, who will retire at the end of this season, as well as Lucinda Brand and Emma Norsgaard.
Balsamo has had an outstanding year, so far, with four victories, including a win at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, and podium finishes at Brugge-De Panne, Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen.
She recently competed in a series of events in Spain, culminating in the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, where she finished second to Lorena Wiebes on the opening stage and fourth on stage 2, showcasing her improving form as she heads into the late-sprint and early-summer stage racing season.
Henderson experienced one of the strongest seasons of her career in 2024, taking second overall at the Tour of Britain, winning the national time trial title, and then securing the silver medal in the time trial at the Paris Olympics.
She hasn’t had the same level of success so far this year, but was recently a part of the Lidl-Trek team that won the opening team time trial at La Vuelta Femenina and will likely have been training specifically for her home Tour of Britain.
Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez)
A course that could well suit Ally Wollaston, watch for her to take a leading role for FDJ-Suez in Britain.
The New Zealander is in her first season with the French outfit and has already secured three wins at Surf Coast Classic, Cadel Evans Road Race, and Classica de Almeria, all hilly one-day races.
She has been able to transfer that success into the Spring Classics, earning an eighth place at Gent-Wevelgem. More recently, she demonstrated her versatility with a sixth place on stage 2 and a third place on stage 6 at La Vuelta Femenina, won by her teammate Demi Vollering.
After a short break from Spanish racing, she arrives at the Tour of Britain to test her legs in a leadership position with support from riders like Amber Kraak, Vittoria Guazzini and Jade Wiel.
Zoe Bäckstedt & Chiara Consonni (Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto)
Zoe Bäckstedt will be right at home at the Tour of Britain, and like Henderson, probably training specifically for this event.
The 20-year-old had a breakout season last year, winning a stage at the Simac Ladies Tour and taking third overall in her first season with Canyon-SRAM.
After a successful cyclocross campaign in which she won the under-23 world title, Bäckstedt returned to road racing for the Spring Classics, where she finished 15th at Paris-Roubaix. She has recently competed at the Vuelta a Burgos before returning to home roads at the Tour of Britain.
Canyon-SRAM also have a powerful sprinter in Chiara Consonni, who is more than capable of securing stage wins and offers her team another card to play for the general classification.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon & Letizia Paternoster (Liv-AlUla-Jayco)
Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Letizia Paternoster made a great team last year, where both finished in the top 10 overall at the Tour of Britain. It was a memorable moment for Roseman-Gannon, who also secured her first WorldTour victory in Manchester.
Paternoster had a more consistent approach to the event, finishing second, fourth, and eighth in the first three stages and fifth overall.
Both riders return with Liv-AlUla-Jayco, and with a course well-suited to their skills as hilly, one-day racing specialists, whose strength transfers nicely to the flatter summer stage races.
Paternoster enters this race with good form, having finished on the podium in the first two stages of La Vuelta Femenina and wearing the red leader’s jersey for a day before moving into a support role for her teammate, Monica Trinca Colonel.
Cat Ferguson (Movistar)
Cat Ferguson is in her first year of racing on the WorldTour with Movistar and has already turned heads with her third place at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, ninth at Brabantse Pijl, three top-10s at La Vuelta Femenina, followed by a victory at Navarra Classic.
After taking three weeks to recover and prepare for the summer season, Ferguson is back on home roads ready to shine at the Tour of Britain.
She will have support from more experienced riders, such as Floortje Mackaij and Aude Biannic, but the team is largely comprised of younger riders, including Laura Ruiz Pérez and Lucia Ruiz Pérez.
Ferguson clearly has the strength to compete among the best on even the toughest of hilly terrain, and is in a good position to move into a leadership role at this four-day race.
Kimberley Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal)
Kimberley Le Court has shown no signs of slowing down as she consistently claims the biggest results of her career over the last two seasons.
Most recently, she won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Monument, her previous race before lining up at the Tour of Britain.
However, that victory was not surprising, as the Mauritian champion had put forth strong performances earlier in the spring, with a fifth-place finish at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, a sixth-place finish at Flèche Wallonne, and a ninth-place finish at Trofeo Alfredo Binda. She was also third overall at the UAE Tour Women.
She had her breakout season last year with a victory in L’Aquila at the Giro d’Italia.
Le Court will once again lead the AG Insurance-Soudal team with support from Gladys Verhulst-Wild, Anya Louw, Julia Borgström and Fauve Bastiaenssen.
Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL)
Charlotte Kool has had highlights early in the season, including a runner-up finish in the opening stage of the UAE Tour, along with two podiums at Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs. However, she hasn’t raced since the end of the Classics season at Paris-Roubaix.
Her form might be a question mark, but as one of the fastest sprints in the peloton, she is likely preparing for bigger targets later in the summer. It is safe to assume that this Picnic-PostNL rider will be using the Tour of Britain to find her winning legs.
Picnic-PostNL also bring British rider Josie Nelson, who will want to perform well on home soil, while Megan Jastrab and Rachele Barbieri will likely be supporting Kool. Esmée Peperkamp and Mara Roldan will be able to test their legs on the climbs and in the breakaways.
Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly)
Fresh off of her victory at the USA Pro Road Championships, Kristen Faulkner will once again line up in her stars-and-stripes jersey for another season.
It’s been a tough season for the double Olympic Champion, who suffered a concussion after crashing during the winter months, and she was forced to start her season later than usual at Milan-San Remo.
It hasn’t taken her long to get back to winning, putting on a show of strength at the National Championships in Charleston last weekend, where she won a three-way sprint against Lauren Stephens and Katherine Sarkisov to take the victory.
That result, combined with second place in the individual time trial, will undoubtedly give some confidence to Faulkner as she heads into the stage racing season.
