Zoe and Elynor Bäckstedt will help lead the British presence at the Tour of Britain Women, with riders from several WorldTour and national teams confirmed for next week’s race.
The sisters arrive with strong credentials and different roles. Zoe Bäckstedt will line up for Canyon-SRAM as the reigning British road and time trial champion. She also holds the under-23 time trial world title.
Elynor Bäckstedt will race for UAE L’Imad. She remains a valued team rider and also reached the national time trial podium this year.
Tour of Britain Women brings strong British contingent
Lauren Dickson adds another prominent British name to the field for FDJ United-SUEZ. She impressed at the Giro d’Italia, where she finished 11th overall while working for team leader Demi Vollering.
Dickson has not raced since a late-June crash at the Tour de Suisse. She broke a collarbone there, making the Tour of Britain Women her return to competition.
The domestic interest extends beyond the Bäckstedt sisters and Dickson. Pfeiffer Georgi, who rides for Picnic PostNL, also features among the confirmed names. Georgi has previously finished inside the top five at the race.
Millie Couzens will start for Fenix-Premier Tech, alongside teammate Flora Perkins. Alice Towers will race in the colours of the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Georgi, Couzens and Towers add further national road champion pedigree to the start list. Their presence gives British fans several familiar names to follow across the five stages.
Great Britain team mixes experience and youth
The Great Britain Cycling Team will include Jess Roberts and Anna Morris, who recently medalled at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. They helped win bronze in the team pursuit, behind Australia and second-placed New Zealand.
Roberts and Morris will race with Towers in the national selection. The squad also includes younger riders Amalie Cooper, Ruby Oakes and Rebecca Gardiner.
Cooper is 21 and Oakes is 20, while Gardiner is in her first year as a senior rider. Their inclusion gives the team a development element alongside proven track and road performers.
The WorldTour-ranked race starts in Cockermouth, Cumbria, on Wednesday 19 August. It will run over five stages before concluding with a stage based on Leamington Spa.
The route first heads south through finishes in Blackpool, Great Orme and Hay-on-Wye. It then crosses England for the final stage in the Midlands.
International stars strengthen Tour of Britain Women field
The British contingent will face a high-level international field. Lorena Wiebes is among the listed starters for SDWorx-Protime.
Wiebes has already won two stages at the race in previous editions. She also arrives as the recent green jersey winner from the Tour de France Femmes.
UAE L’Imad will bring Vuelta Femenina winner Paula Blasi, adding another major race winner to the start list. Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma also features among the leading names after her Tour de France Femmes general classification performance.
With national champions, returning riders and Grand Tour standouts all present, the race offers a broad test. For the home riders, it also provides a rare WorldTour-level chance to race on British roads.
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