The 2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women marks a significant change for one of Britain’s most prominent women’s stage races, with a challenging four-day route running from the forests of North Yorkshire to the streets of Glasgow. Now re-established as a firm fixture on the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar, the race offers one of the few top-tier international racing opportunities on British roads – and the only WorldTour stage race on UK soil this season after the UCI’s date changes saw the RideLondon Classique forced into hiatus.
2025 Tour of Britain Women Stage Details
Spanning 423.6 kilometres over four stages, the 2025 edition promises variety and spectacle, with a mix of coastal sprints, exposed moorland climbs, and urban circuits. The race opens on Thursday 5th June, with a scenic but selective route from Dalby Forest to Redcar, where riders will take on long climbs in the North York Moors before a flat seaside finish. From there, the peloton heads inland on Stage 2 from Hartlepool to Saltburn-by-the-Sea, ending with the punishing gradients of Saltburn Bank, a now-iconic 15% wall that will be tackled twice in the closing circuits.
Stage 3 shifts the focus north to the Scottish Borders, with a looping route beginning and ending in Kelso on Saturday 7th June. With repeated climbs at Scott’s View and Dingleton, plus the three-kilometre grind up Dunion Hill, it’s the longest and most mountainous test of the race. Then on Sunday, Stage 4 brings the race into the centre of Glasgow, with ten laps of an 8.4-kilometre circuit finishing in Glasgow Green, where the overall winner will be crowned shortly after midday.
A free-to-enter family cycling festival will take over the final circuit after the stage, giving fans the chance to ride the same route as the pros. It’s part of an ongoing effort to link elite racing with grassroots cycling, especially in the wake of Glasgow’s successful hosting of the 2023 UCI World Championships.
The start list reflects the race’s growing prestige as the Women’s WorldTour teams return to the race after a reduced 2 editions. All the major WorldTeams will be in attendance, including SD Worx-Protime, Lidl-Trek, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and FDJ-SUEZ, alongside EF Education–Oatly, the lone ProTeam confirmed. A strong domestic presence will be led by DAS–Hutchinson, CJ O’Shea Racing, and Smurfit Westrock, with British Continental teams eager to test themselves against the best in the world.
With no clear GC blueprint – climbing strength will be tested early, and sprint bonuses will be available throughout, the 2025 Tour of Britain Women looks set to crown a rider who can handle the full range of British conditions. And with Glasgow hosting a high-speed finale, consistency across all four days could prove just as important as stage wins in deciding who lifts the overall title.
Main photo credit: SWPix.com
