Tour of Britain women’s race to pass through Rochdale on Sunday

The final route for the 2024 Tour of Britain Women’s cycle race has been revealed as Greater Manchester gears up to host stage four of the major international stage race on Sunday 9 June.

Named as the first-ever European Capital of Cycling, Greater Manchester will welcome some of the biggest names in female cycling as they go head-to-head over 99km and 1,615m in height before the winner of the inaugural Tour of Britain Women is crowned.

The cycle stars will depart at 11.15am from the National Cycling Centre in Manchester and conclude at Leigh Sports Village with riders expected to cross the finish line at about 2.06pm.

Spectators are encouraged to come out and line the route to cheer on the peloton as it makes its way through the town. 

The route through Rochdale will see the cyclists enter the borough at around 12.00pm at Burnedge from High Crompton on Broad Lane and then turn down Oldham Road, turning right at the central retail park onto Wood Street, Molesworth Street and up John Street.

The route then goes left onto St Mary's Gate and riders will turn right onto Spotland Road, continuing onto Edenfield Road and through Norden towards Edenfield.

In order to reduce disruption, road closures will only be in place for short periods of time whilst the riders go through. The Tour of Britain team will be operating a ‘rolling road closure’ which means roads on the route would only be closed for around 30 minutes at a time.

 

 

Tour of Britain race director Rod Ellingworth said: “I am incredibly proud of the collective efforts of everyone involved to allow us to be in a position where we can announce the fourth and final route of the Tour of Britain Women.

“Stage four is set to be another incredibly tough stage, with a series of challenging climbs, beautiful scenery and visual reminders of the area’s industrial heritage where spectators will witness the very best of women’s road racing in action.

“As the European Capital of Cycling, we know that our partners in Manchester and the surrounding boroughs will put on a show not to be missed.

"We are extremely grateful for the support of Marketing Manchester, Manchester Active, Manchester city council, Wigan council and all those involved for their ongoing commitment and support.”

Prior to the final Greater Manchester section of the race, Stage 1 takes place on Thursday June 6 from Welshpool to Llandudno; Stage 2  on Friday 7 June is at Wrexham and Stage 3 on Saturday 8 June is at Warrington.

Local Democracy Reporter: Nick Jackson