AJ Bell Women’s Tour Returns Tomorrow!

842 days after Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) won the last edition of the race, the AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour returns tomorrow (Monday 4 October).

ProCyclingUK has previewed the AJ Bell Women’s Tour!

Two days after her historic victory in the first-ever womenโ€™s Paris Roubaix Deignan heads the start list as the race gets underway in Oxfordshire with a 147.7-kilometre (91.8-mile) stage between Bicester and Banbury.

In total 16 different nationalities are represented on the start line in the 89-rider field.  Britain is the most represented nation with 24 riders in the peloton.

A trio of riders โ€“ Hannah Barnes (Canyon SRAM Racing), Leah Kirchmann (Team DSM), and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) โ€“ will be competing in their seventh edition of the AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour, having started and finished all six editions to date.

The youngest rider in the race is Alice Towers (Drops โ€“ Le Col s/b TEMPUR) at 18 years and 358 days, while Trek-Segafredo rider Trixi Worrackโ€™s in one of the final races of her career at 40 years and 6 days.

This yearโ€™s AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour features its first-ever individual time trial, taking place in Atherstone on stage three (Wednesday 6 October), with the overall champion set to be crowned in Felixstowe on Saturday (9 October).

Double AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour stage winner Sarah Roy (Team BikeExchange) said; โ€œVeloViewer has been great to see what the courses will be like this year. The stages look like it will be really fun and interesting racing across the whole week and the terrain really suits our team.

โ€œI like that thereโ€™s a โ€˜shortโ€™ time trial this year as well. Itโ€™ll really sort out the GC which can open the racing up a bit differently for non-time trial riders.  Itโ€™s also been a special year with the Olympics and the first time weโ€™ve had a really popular, strong stage race after the World Championships. I expect to see some great racing though, our peloton is relentless.โ€

Liv Racingโ€™s Sofia Bertizzolo comes into the AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour fresh having missed Paris โ€“ Roubaix; โ€œI donโ€™t have a lot of experience in the Womenโ€™s Tour. Itโ€™s only the second time Iโ€™ve ridden it.

โ€œI have studied the course and expect a very attacking race. The stage profiles donโ€™t seem too difficult, so the attack might be worth it for those who are aiming for the general classification. The time trial could also be decisive for the general classification. I expect a fast race where everyone is sharp. The latter certainly applies to me. The last few weeks I have not ridden any races. But Iโ€™ve had good quality training sessions and Iโ€™m fresh and ready to go.โ€

The AJ Bell Womenโ€™s Tour is sponsored by AJ Bell, one of the UKโ€™s leading online investment platforms, helping people invest for the long term via ISAs, pensions and general investment accounts.ย  It has a rich history of supporting elite level sport including badminton, cricket, rugby, squash and triathlon, and recently sponsored the menโ€™s AJ Bell Tour of Britain in September, won by Wout van Aert.

Riders

The final start list can be downloaded from the website here:ย https://www.womenstour.co.uk/race/riders/

Stages

Stage OneMonday 4 OctoberBicester to Banbury147.6km
Stage TwoTuesday 5 OctoberWalsall to Walsall103km
Stage ThreeWednesday 6 OctoberAtherstone individual time trial16.6km
Stage FourThursday 7 OctoberShoeburyness to Southend-on-Sea117.5km
Stage FiveFriday 8 OctoberColchester to Clacton-on-Sea95.3km
Stage SixSaturday 9 OctoberHaverhill to Felixstowe155km

Competing teams

  • UCI Womenโ€™s World Teams: Alรฉ BTC Ljubljana, Canyon SRAM Racing, FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, Liv Racing, Movistar Team, SD Worx, Team BikeExchange, Team DSM, Trek-Segafredo
  • UCI Womenโ€™s Continental Teams: AWOL Oโ€™Shea, CAMS-Basso Bikes, Drops-Le Col s/b TEMPUR., Parkhotel Valkenburg, Team Coop โ€“ Hitec Products, Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank, Valcar-Travel & Service