The Women’s Tour, the UK’s leading international women’s cycling event, will return to Northampton in June following a seven-year absence.

Stage two of this year’s race will start from Derngate in the town centre on Thursday 8 June, just as it did on its last visit in 2016.

Northampton is forever linked to the race having hosted the event’s first-ever stage finish in 2014. This year’s inclusion on the route comes during the most southerly day of the 2023 race, with stage two set to finish in the Central Bedfordshire town of Ampthill.

A free-to-watch spectacle that showcases its host regions and promotes community activities along the race route, the Women’s Tour continues to form part of the prestigious UCI Women’s WorldTour series of events.

Last year’s race averaged a daily roadside attendance of 60,000 spectators and delivered an economic boost of over £1m to local economies.

Further details of the stage route through West Northamptonshire will be announced in the coming weeks.

Video: relive Emma Johansson’s victory in Northampton in the first-ever Women’s Tour stage

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Councillor Adam Brown, Deputy Leader of West Northamptonshire Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, Culture and Leisure, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with SweetSpot once again to host this prestigious race in West Northamptonshire.

“The Women’s Tour is a fantastic way to bring together communities and showcase our wonderful area to the world. We are confident it will bring an economic boost to West Northants and inspire more people to take part in sport and get active, particularly women and girls, by welcoming some incredible female role models who are at the pinnacle of their sport.”

 Mick Bennett, Women’s Tour race director, said: “It will be fantastic to return to Northampton, which very much feels like the home of the Women’s Tour having been the location of our first ever stage finish. We would like to thank West Northamptonshire Council for their support and encourage the whole community to make sure that the Thursday 8 June is in their diaries. Come out and support the world’s very best riders racing  in your town!”

About the Women’s Tour 2023

The Women’s Tour 2023 will begin in Warwickshire on Wednesday 7 June. This year’s edition will feature the most northerly stage in race history to date, a gruelling day of racing between Dalby Forest and Guisborough that will visit the North York Moors, on stage three.

The penultimate stage of the race (Saturday 10 June) takes place between Coleshill and Derby, creating a Midlands doubleheader to end the event, as this year’s champion will be crowned following a spectacular circuit race around the centre of Birmingham on Sunday 11 June.

This year’s Women’s Tour has already attracted the support of cottages.com, Brother UK, Accurist and cycleGuard. Organisers hope that today’s route announcement will generate additional commercial interest in the race, with event title, jersey, and stage specific sponsorships available for selected stages. Click here for more information.

Launched in 2014, the award-winning event was the UK’s first international women’s stage race for women. Heralded as a game-changer in the journey towards gender equality in sport, previous winners of the Women’s Tour include Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016, 2019) and Elisa Longo Borghini (2022).

Further details of this year’s race, including competing teams, leaders’ jerseys and stage routes, will be revealed in the coming weeks.