Revitalisation efforts to breathe new life into the Tour of Scandinavia got here to a halt for a second consecutive 12 months as organisers introduced Thursday “the top of the highway” for the Women’s WorldTour stage race.
Since its formation in 2014 because the Ladies Tour of Norway, the race has been contested 9 instances. In 2020, the race was cancelled because of the COVID world pandemic and in 2024 the race was not held due to a monetary shortfall to provide a top-tier contest, Norway’s solely Women’s WorldTour stage race.
Seeking to re-energise the stage race for a tenth version, a press launch revealed that makes an attempt fell quick to safe applicable funding and broadcast partnerships and that the nationwide federation lacked “enthusiasm” to assist the house race deliberate for August 19-24. The occasion has been terminated and rights holders Ladies Tour of Norway AS will dissolve because the mother or father firm.
“After final 12 months’s cancellation, laborious work has been performed since final summer time to revive the World Tour race. We had been properly into the preparations with each the race idea, host municipalities, and never least worldwide TV distribution, which seems very spectacular and is in place,” an announcement learn from the Liquidation Board of Ladies Tour of Norway.
“However, we should acknowledge that now we have not succeeded in constructing a model that’s enticing sufficient to media, sponsors, and different vital stakeholders in Norway. There aren’t any nationwide TV channels in Norway, like NRK and Tv2, who want to distribute the race on TV regardless of us masking all manufacturing prices.
“Without nationwide TV protection, sponsors, and a federation missing enthusiasm to assist the World Tour race at dwelling, it turns into tough to determine a sustainable monetary platform and create the passion wanted, each internally and externally, to ship knowledgeable biking race on the high degree.”
The six-day stage race was slotted after the mid-August Tour de Romandie Féminin and led to the conclusion for the majority of summer time WorldTour racing earlier than the World Championships in September in Rwanda.
Marianne Vos had essentially the most wins through the tenure of the stage race, taking the GC title for 3 consecutive years when the race moved to the highest degree, 2017 to 2019. Annemiek van Vleuten was the final rider to hoist the trophy, incomes her second general victory in 2023.
“We have dared to be revolutionary and have been an vital driver for the event of worldwide ladies’s biking. We are pleased with what now we have created and joyful to be remembered as probably the greatest and most acknowledged races on the ladies’s World Tour race calendar.
“We additionally wish to lengthen an enormous thanks to the worldwide biking federation UCI for devoted {and professional} assist through the start-up and progress of the race and for displaying nice persistence and understanding in our try to revive the race.
“We are bowing out on the high.”
