Marianne Vos (WaowDeals Pro Cycling) during 4th Ladies Tour of Norway 2018, Stage 2 a 127,7km stage from Fredrikstad to Sarpsborg 49m / LTON / on August 18, 2018 in Sarpsborg, Norway. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images) The organiser of the Ladies Tour of Norway has announced firm plans for a six day stage race called the Battle of the North to happen in 2022.
It has applied to the UCI to have the Scandinavian stage race between August 16 and 21, with stages in Denmark before the race heads north for three days in Norway and a fourth crossing into Sweden.
As the race will replace the Ladies Tour of Norway it is expected the new event will also be part of the top tier, the Women’s WorldTour, consequently attracting the biggest teams and best riders.
The race was originally announced in 2019, the organiser hoping to amalgamate the two Swedish one-day events at Vårgårda and the Norwegian race into a 10-day event. This has not proved possible, with Vårgårda, which runs two WorldTour races – a team time trial and road race – on the same weekend, choosing to remain independent.
“There are no bad feelings on our part, Vårgårda is a unique concept with strong local roots,” said Ladies Tour of Norway organiser Roy Moberg in a press release.
“A the same time it places some restrictions in us in relation to realising the Battle of the North as we had originally planned. There is simply no place in the UCI’s […]
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