OVO Energy Women's Tour launched today in Eye

The official launch of the OVO Energy Women's Tour 2019 Grand Depart in Suffolk will took place in Eye today.

Representatives from the OVO Energy Women's Tour, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils were in attendance.

Created by SweetSpot Group in 2014, the OVO Energy Women’s Tour is the UK’s first international stage race for women, bringing the world’s top riders to compete in Great Britain as a part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

In addition to its wider aims of promoting active and healthy lifestyles to women, the event has championed equality in sport, notably offering the same prize fund pro rata as the men’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain. The race will expand to six days for the first time in its history in 2019.

This year’s OVO Energy Women’s Tourwill take place between Beccles and Stowmarket, marking the first time that both market towns will host Britain’s leading women’s procycling race.

Nearly 100 of the world’s best female riders will line up in Beccles on Monday June 10 to tackle a 157.6-kilometre (98-mile) route that will take in the northern and central parts of the county before finishing in Stowmarket.

Fans watching the action unfold at the finish on Ipswich Street will benefit from seeing a field comprising Olympic, world and national champions pass through the line twice during the stage.

Today’s announcement coincides with International Women’s Day and was celebrated with a launch event at the historic Eye Castle this morning. There was also confirmation that, for the second year running, the race’s prize fund will match that of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain to continue on the path towards gender equality in cycling.

The race, which has been won by the likes of Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016) and Coryn Rivera (2018), attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000, as well as over three million fans