Birmingham to host spectacular Women’s Tour 2023 Final

Nearly a year on from hosting an unforgettable Commonwealth Games, Birmingham will again welcome world-class sport when the final stage of the Women’s Tour cycle race heads to the second city this June.

The award-winning and trailblazing event, Britain’s most prestigious international women’s cycling race, will crown its 2023 champion following a circuit race around Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter on Sunday 11 June.

This free-to-watch spectacle will follow a day of community and family-based activities taking place in and around St Paul’s Square and the Jewellery Quarter. More details of this and the route for the race will be announced in the coming weeks.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We’re delighted to host the Women’s Tour 2023 finale for the first time in the city’s history. The race adds another exciting and fast-paced sport to the portfolio of major sporting events we are developing.

“For many decades Birmingham has developed a deserved reputation as a city that hosts world-class events and we know that our city is hugely popular with athletes, performers and spectators, who all know they're guaranteed a warm, friendly welcome.

“It’s great that the Jewellery Quarter will be showcased and this is another opportunity for businesses in the city to boom during our golden decade of opportunity.”

Birmingham has never previously hosted the race, although the city held stages of the men’s Tour of Britain in 2005 and 2006. Last year’s Women’s Tour averaged a daily roadside attendance of 60,000 spectators and delivered an economic boost of over £1m to local economies.

Mick Bennett, Women’s Tour race director, said:

“As somebody who was born, raised and took up cycling while living in Birmingham, I am so excited that this year’s Women’s Tour will culminate in this wonderful city. The Commonwealth Games showed the world that it knows how do put on major sporting events; that, combined with the fantastic work it is doing in regards to promoting active transport and sustainable living make it the perfect host for this year’s finale!”

The Women’s Tour, which forms a part of the prestigious UCI Women’s WorldTour series, will begin in Warwickshire on Wednesday 7 June. It will feature a stage between Northampton and Ampthill (Thursday 8 June) before tackling the most northerly stage in race history to date between Dalby Forest and Guisborough via the North York Moors. The penultimate stage of the race (Saturday 10 June) takes place between Coleshill and Derby, creating a Midlands doubleheader to end the event.