Southend-on-Sea set to host prestigious women’s cycling race

June 28, 2021

Southend-on-Sea is set to host the fourth stage of world-renowned cycle race, The Women’s Tour, in October 2021, welcoming hundreds of elite level female athletes to the Borough as part of the prestigious event.

The Southend stage from Shoeburyness to Westcliff-on-Sea, will see riders set off from East Beach, Shoeburyness, on Thursday 7 October, before heading out into the rural roads of Essex, before reaching the finish line along the seafront in Westcliff. A full route map will be announced in due course. Southend is stage four of the six-stage event.

Today’s stage announcement completes the race route for this year’s Women’s Tour, which moved from its traditional June calendar position owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will start in Oxfordshire on Monday 4 October, before visiting Walsall for the first time on stage two (Tuesday 5 October). A first-ever individual time trial stage, to be held in the north Warwickshire town of Atherstone, follows on stage three before the race heads east. Following the Southend leg are stages between Colchester and Clacton (Friday 8 October) and a Suffolk finale from Haverhill to Felixstowe (Saturday 9 October).

Carole Mulroney, cabinet member for environment, culture, tourism and planning, said: “I am thrilled to announce that Southend-on-Sea will be hosting stage four of the prestigious Women’s Tour. This is a fantastic event which will bring some of the world’s best cyclists here and is certain to be exhilarating. I hope that by hosting this event, young people in the area will find and grow a passion for cycling, and I cannot wait to welcome the riders to the Borough.”

Jonathan Durling, partnerships director at SweetSpot, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Southend-on-Sea to the Women’s Tour in 2021 for what promises to be a challenging day of racing. One of our aims this year was to showcase the best of Britain and by bringing the event to Southend-on-Sea, with its unforgettable coastline, world-famous pier and cultural hotspots, I think we’ve ticked that box once again. To accomplish this, particularly given the challenges of the past year, is testament to the work Southend-on-Sea Borough Council have put in behind the scenes.”

Further details of the stage routes of all six of the Women’s Tour will be announced in July.