Women's Tour of Britain in Yorkshire: Routes revealed including Dalby Forest and Saltburn Bank

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women is headed to the north east of the region on the opening two days of the four-day race on Thursday, June 5, and Friday, June 6. And as has become tradition when Yorkshire hosts major cycling events dating back to the Tour de France in 2014, grippy terrain and one-day style stages are back on the agenda.

Stage one starts at 11.30am outside Forestry England’s visitor centre in Dalby Forest, covering 81.5 kilometres (50.7 miles) across the North York Moors National Park and Tees Valley, before the finish on Coast Road alongside Zetland Park in Redcar.

Along the way the stage will pass through Pickering, Hutton-le-Hole, Castleton, and Great Ayton, before crossing into the Tees Valley and Redcar & Cleveland, where the route will head through Guisborough and Marske-by-the-Sea, on its way to the flat, seaside finish, just after 2pm.

During the stage riders will contest two categorised Queen of the Mountains climbs, the first being the long, a six kilometre climb up to Blakey Ridge in the North York Moors National Park from Hutton-le-Hole and Langburn’s Bank out of Castleton.

Stage two on the Friday will see riders facing a testing uphill finish up the now iconic switchbacks at Saltburn-by-the-Sea at the end of 114.3 kilometres (71.1 miles) of racing.

Setting off from Hartlepool Marina at 10.45am, riders will head through Seaton Carew, Billingham, Sadberge, Middleton St George and Yarm, before passing through Stokesley and second visits for the race to Great Ayton and Guisborough.

The stage includes two laps of a circuit via Skelton, Boosbeck, Lingdale, and Brotton, that will see riders twice tackle a Queen of the Mountains climb, averaging 4.5 per cent over 1.5 kilometres, on Marske Lane up to Skelton, before the famous hairpins of the 15 per cent coastal climb of Saltburn Bank twice, the first time for an intermediate sprint onto Glenside, the second time for the finish just after 2pm.