A guide to the Ribble Valley leg of 2026 Tour of Britain Women
World-class cycling is coming to the Ribble Valley in just ten days time.
The 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women will get underway on Wednesday, August 19th, with the first stage taking place in Cockermouth.
The 2026 event will be a historic one for the race as it becomes the first women’s Tour of Britain to feature five stages, matching the format of the men’s race for the first time in its history. After the race begins in Cockermouth, the riders will make their way to Clitheroe for the second stage.
The second stage, which takes place on Thursday, August 20th, covers a 110.5km route from Clitheroe to a seaside sprint finish beside the Mirror Ball on Blackpool's promenade. The route will see the riders race on the Waddington Fell before a 1.9km climb at the Nick o' Pendle on Pendle Hill while the stage will see riders race through Whalley, Longridge, Broughton, and Singleton before it heads down into Lytham St Annes before the fast approach into Blackpool.
The race will set off from outside the White Lion pub in Market Place, Clitheroe, at 11.30am, and will feature a total of 19 teams, including 13 UCI WorldTour Teams and nine of the top ten teams in the world. The UCI WorldTour teams competing are: AG Insurance – Soudal Team, Canyon//SRAM, FDJ United – SUEZ, Fenix-Premier Tech, Human Powered Health, Lidl-Trek, Liv AlUla Jayco, Movistar Team, Team Picnic PostNL, Team SD Worx – Protime, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, UAE Team L'IMAD and Uno-X Mobility.
It’s expected to be another fiercely competitive battle in the fight for the coveted green jersey. FDJ United - SUEZ’s Ally Wollaston claimed the green jersey for topping the General Classification ahead of Britain’s Cat Ferguson, who secured the red and white jerseys for topping the Points Classification and Young Rider Classification. Dominika Włodarczyk secured the blue jersey in the Mountains Classification, which is presented to the best climber in a cycling road race.
In the Team Classification, FDJ United - SUEZ, who currently tops the world team rankings, are once again expected to be among the contenders in 2026. The team topped the Team Classification in 2025, with an overall time of 31 hours 53 minutes 45 seconds, beating out Team Picnic–PostNL and Lidl–Trek in second and third.
The 2026 edition of the race will see Ferguson attempt to secure the green jersey for the Movistar Team. Wales’ Zoe Backstedt is set to line-up for Canyon//SRAM after winning the national road race title earlier this year and Lidl-Trek will look to top the Team Classification for a third time.