Tour of Britain women's cycling race 2026: Clitheroe to Blackpool

Lancashire is getting ready to welcome the Tour of Britain women's cycling race to our county for the first time.

Stage two of the race will pass through more than 70 miles (113km) of Lancashire on 20 August, starting in Clitheroe and finishing in Blackpool.

Riders will tackle Waddington Fell and the Nick o' Pendle before passing through areas including Sabden, Whalley, Hurst Green, Longridge, Broughton, Weeton and Lytham, followed by a sprint to the finish line next to Blackpool's Mirror Ball.

Clitheroe hosted the men's race in 2015, which was the last time the Tour came to the county.

There will be rolling road closures during the event, to minimise disruption and for safety reasons. But most roads will be affected for around 30 to 40 minutes.

Access for emergency services will be maintained.

In Clitheroe, the following roads will be closed for their entire length unless otherwise stated:

04:00 BST

• Castle Street
• Market Place
• Wellgate
• Church Brow
• Yorke Street
• King Lane
• King Street closed above New Market Street, so access to Market car park available

09:00

• Woone Lane (from Eshton Terrace)
• Moor Lane
• Parson Lane

12:00

• Woone Lane, Moor Lane and Parson Lane re-open

14:00

• All other road closures lifted

Further details on road closures will be provided soon.

Clitheroe has its own railway station and bus interchange close to the town centre, making public transport a good option for spectators.

Blackpool is well connected by rail, with Blackpool North providing the main railway gateway to the town centre.

The race itself will head out of Clitheroe from 11:30 BST along York Street to Chatburn, Grindleton, Sawley, Bolton-by-Bowland, Tosside and Slaidburn before heading over Waddington Fell and back through Clitheroe at the bottom of Chatburn Road, and up Pendle Road, over the Nick O' Pendle, down to Sabden, through Whalley then Hurst Green and Longridge and on to the finish line on the seafront at Blackpool at about 14:40.

Blackpool is also hosting the Family Cycling Festival outside the Solaris Centre in the hours before the women's race, with people of all ages able to cycle along a traffic-free route and take part in cycling-themed activities between 11:00 BST and 14:00.

The festival is free to attend and people are asked to bring their own bikes, although a limited number are available to hire for children and adults.

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