London Marathon
Record-breaking 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men shows growth and momentum of cycling in the UK — Record broadcast figures as 4.5 million tuned into Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men across the world, with the women’s race seeing a 292% rise in viewership from 2025 — Tens of thousands of fans lined the roadsides and millions more engaged online, highlighting cycling’s growing popularity across the UK — Enhanced fan experiences, community activations, and world-class racing helped make the 2026 event the biggest one yet
—- The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women [11-15 August] and Men [1-5 September] return in 2027 in bumper summer of cycling
The 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men was the biggest edition to date, with record national and international broadcast figures, increased engagement with fans on the ground and across digital channels, new and strengthened partnerships, and tens of
thousands of people watching by the roadside.
Memorable stages included thousands lining the narrow-cobbled streets of Michaelgate in Lincoln for the opening stage of the men’s race, while huge crowds descended on Royal Leamington Spa to see Kim Le Court-Pienaar take the green jersey on the final day of
the women’s race.
The enthusiastic support from fans, partners, riders, teams, volunteers, and the host communities created an exhilarating atmosphere across 10-days of racing, reflecting the growing momentum behind cycling in the UK and further establishing the Lloyds Tour
of Britain Women and Men as one of the country’s leading sporting events.
The 2027 dates have been confirmed with the Women’s race on 11-15 August 2027 and the Men’s on 1-5 September 2027. Alongside the historic 2027 Grands Départs, as Britain becomes the first country outside of France to host the start of the Tour de France and
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in the same year, it is set to be a blockbuster summer of cycling on Britain’s roads, building on the success of 2026.
The growth of women’s cycling has been one of the standout success stories of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, with viewership increasing by an incredible 292% from 2025 and thousands of spectators lining the streets to watch the world’s best riders battle
for the green jersey, including an enormous crowd for the final stage in Royal Leamington Spa.
Further demonstrating the growing interest for women’s cycling, 822,900 viewers watched the women’s race on ITV4/ITVX and TNT Sports. Likewise, 724,540 viewers watched the men’s race on the same channels, highlighting the growing popularity of the Lloyds Tour
of Britain Women and Men amongst a domestic audience.
Fans also had more ways to experience the action throughout the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men, thanks to the support of partners across the sport. Lloyds continued to help more people experience the joy of cycling
through initiatives including Sofa
to Saddle, ReCycle
Hubs and the Family Cycling Festival, inspiring and enabling people across Britain to get riding.
New technology brought fans even closer to the racing. Elixirr, working with Velon,
brought
innovative rider data and insights to broadcasts and social media, giving viewers a new perspective on the action, while
OMODA
joined as Official Automotive Partner and created in-car experiences that gave fans the chance to see elite racing up close. IMG helped drive growth and sustainability of the event through media rights management
and digital marketing.
The impact extended well beyond Britain, demonstrating the international appeal of the Tours. The men’s race attracted 1.3 million viewers in France alone, while world-class fields saw 13 of the 14 women’s WorldTour teams compete alongside some of the biggest
names in the sport, including Grand Tour stage winners Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij and Filippo Ganna.
Fans also engaged with the events in record numbers online, with Lloyds Tour of Britain digital channels generating a combined 28 million organic impressions. Together with the thousands of spectators who lined the roadside, the figures demonstrate the growing
excitement around the Tours and the opportunity to introduce even more people to world-class cycling.
Managing Director of British Cycling Ventures, Darren Henry, said: “By reaching new audiences digitally and creating more opportunities for spectators through our events, we are continuing to see the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men go from strength to
strength, and we’re delighted that 2026 was our biggest edition yet. Whether watching from home, following online or joining us at the roadside, more people than ever are engaging with this world-class event, reinforcing its position as one of the UK’s leading
sporting events.
“The Lloyds Tour of Britain provides a compelling platform for fans, partners and host venues alike, and with the excitement of the announcing the 2027 dates and the 2027 Grand Départs on the horizon, we are well placed to build on that momentum and continue
growing the event’s reach and impact for years to come.”
The Lloyds Tour of Britain was delivered in 2026 under the mantle of two races, one Tour of Britain, won by Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal) and Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates – XRG).
Find out more about the Lloyds Tour of Britain
here.
- ENDS –
NOTES TO EDITORS
When reporting, please refer to the full event title, the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women or Lloyds Tour of Britain Men.
Figures on broadcast coverage are collated by IMG and provided by broadcasters.
Broadcasters include: ITV, TNT Sports, Warner Bros Discovery, Proximus, L’Equipe, SBS Sport, Sporty TV, and StarTimes.
Organic impressions is the number of times content has been displayed to users on Lloyds Tour of Britain official digital channels – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Data is taken from Meta Business Suite, Hootsuite, and YouTube Studio.
YouTube views are the number of times users have actively watched content on YouTube, across livestreams, long-form, and short-form videos. Data is taken from YouTube Studio.
About the Lloyds Tour of Britain
The Lloyds Tour of Britain is the largest free-to-attend sporting spectacle in the UK and is delivered under the mantel of two races, one Tour of Britain.
The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women takes place annually as part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, making it one of the most prestigious events in the sport’s global calendar.
The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women features the world’s top teams and riders, attracting tens of thousands of fans to the roadside.
The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men is part of the UCI ProSeries, making it one of the most prestigious sporting events in the sport’s global calendar.
Follow the Lloyds Tour of Britain on X
(Twitter), Tiktok,
YouTube,
Strava,
Facebook
and Instagram
For further media information about the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men, please contact:
Gareth Burrell | garethburrell@britishcycling.org.uk
Ellie Ruskin | ellieruskin@britishcycling.org.uk
About British Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling in Great Britain. We govern and develop the sport from grassroots participation through to supporting the riders representing Great Britain on the international stage.
Our purpose is to bring the joy of cycling to everyone, and we’re fulfilling this by building on the elite success of the Great Britain Cycling Team and enabling more people to discover the joy of riding a bike.
We are proud to represent a community of members, 2,000 affiliated clubs, and the 27 million people who ride a bike nationwide – whether riding for fun, racing competitively, or simply getting from A to B. We exist to support and represent anyone who participates or
wants to participate in our activities.
For more information, visit www.britishcycling.org.uk.
About Lloyds
For over 250 years, Lloyds is proud to have served the people, businesses and communities of Britain. Lloyds is one of the UK’s leading retail and commercial banks serving millions of customers every day, through our mobile, online, telephone banking and branch
services. We offer a comprehensive range of financial products and services shaped to suit individual needs, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, loans and credit cards, to private banking and wealth management services. And through our network
of commercial banking offices, we provide support to UK businesses – from SMEs to large corporates and financial institutions.
About IMG
IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and event management. It powers growth of revenues,
fanbases and IP for more than 250 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Concacaf, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball,
CONMEBOL, World Rugby, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.
Ellie Ruskin
Communications and PR Officer
7940302253
ellieruskin@britishcycling.org.uk
britishcycling.org.uk
The British Cycling Federation is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with registered number 3943494. Our registered office is at Stuart Street, Manchester, M11 4DQ. If you are not the intended recipient, please accept our apologies. Please do not disclose, copy, or distribute information in this email: to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Please inform us that this message has gone astray before deleting it. Thank you for your co-operation.
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