OVO Energy Tour offers first-ever hilltop finish in 2019

Organisers of the OVO Energy Women's Tour have announced the introduction of a hilltop finish for the first time in the event's six-year history. The event is part of the Women's WorldTour and will take place from June 10-15.

Warwickshire, which has hosted the event for four seasons, will be the location of the event’s first-ever hilltop finish through Burton Dassett Country Park on Thursday, June 13, at the end of the fourth stage.

Stage 4 will start in Warwick and race 158km to the three finishing circuits through Burton Dassett Country Park. Before beginning the circuits, the peloton will tackle the south-west side of Edge Hill.

The race will then start the final loops clockwise around Burton Dassett and Farnborough. The final climb through the finish line is 1.7km with gradients of 15 per cent and an average of 4.9 per cent. In total, stage 4 includes 1,513m of climbing.

"The support for the OVO Energy Women's Tour in Warwickshire has been truly unforgettable and is something that riders have commented on year after year. Therefore, I’m delighted to announce that we'll be returning to the county this June and this year's stage promises to be even more exciting and unpredictable than our incredible previous visits," Mick Bennett, OVO Energy Women’s Tour race director, said in a press release.

"Historic Warwick will put on a spectacular show as it hosts the start while the climb through the picturesque Burton Dassett Country Park will prove a real test for our many competing Olympic, world and national champions."

The 2019 OVO Energy Women's Tour will mark its sixth edition and the organisers will offer equal prize money compared to the men's Tour of Britain. The peloton will compete for €97,880 in 2019 – up from €89,999 last year.

The race will be made up of six stages, one more than the previous year. Although not all of the stages have been announced yet, the organisers have already revealed that stage 1's 157.6km race will be held from Beccles to Stowmarket and stage 3 will be held from South Oxon to Blenheim Palace.