Tour of Britain Women: free Lancashire stage on 20 August: what residents need to know

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women reaches Lancashire on Thursday 20 August 2026, when Stage 2 covers 110.5km from Clitheroe to the finish on Blackpool’s famous promenade. The cycling race is free to watch and intended for the general public, with 114 riders representing 19 teams due to take part.

Visit Lancashire identifies several communities along the course, giving spectators a choice between seeing the start, watching from the wider route corridor or heading to the seaside finish.

The essentials for Thursday’s Lancashire stage

The route from Clitheroe to Blackpool

Stage 2 begins in Clitheroe before crossing Lancashire towards Blackpool. According to Visit Lancashire, the race route passes through the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Longridge and Lytham St Annes before reaching the finish line on Blackpool promenade.

Those locations are the confirmed anchors for anyone deciding where to follow the race in person. Clitheroe hosts the start, while Blackpool provides the final destination after 110.5km of racing; the other named areas offer points along the broader course.

The Lancashire stage comes one day after a 158.9km opening race around Cumbria. Across the full five-stage Tour of Britain Women, riders are scheduled to cover 635.8km and ascend a total of 8,895 metres before the competition concludes in Warwickshire. Two stages in Wales follow the Lancashire leg.

Champions and British riders in the field

Defending champion Ally Wollaston is due to return as she attempts to retain the overall title. Former champion Lotte Kopecky is also listed among the entrants, adding another previous winner to the 19-team field.

British attention will include national road race champion Zoe Backstedt, who returns to race on home roads after a season featuring a stage victory at the Tour de Suisse. The wider British contingent includes former national champions and members of the Great Britain Cycling Team.

The field also contains previous Tour stage winners and Commonwealth Games medallists. That mix gives spectators along the Lancashire route an opportunity to see established champions and younger riders during the second day of the five-stage competition.

Planning a visit or following the coverage

The supplied event information does not state a start time, street-level spectator areas, a booking process, dedicated transport guidance or accessibility arrangements. The confirmed practical details are the 20 August date, the broad Clitheroe-to-Blackpool route, the named communities, the promenade finish and the free spectator status.

Anyone unable to attend can follow the race remotely. TNT Sports is due to carry live coverage of the full Tour, while ITV4 and ITVX will provide daily highlights through free-to-air coverage. UK viewers can also stream live coverage of each stage through the Tour of Britain YouTube channel.

Race updates will additionally appear across the Tour of Britain’s Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X accounts. For a live-stream alert, the source directs viewers to subscribe to the Tour of Britain YouTube channel and select its “notify me” option.

Source: Visit Lancashire Blog