The Women’s Tour Announces Crowdfunding Campaign to Save the Race
Just a week after news surfaced that its 2023 edition was in jeopardy due to a lack of sponsorship funding, the Women’s Tour has announced a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of saving this summer’s race.
Since its inception in 2014, the UK-based Women’s Tour has been at the fore of the fight for equality in women’s racing, leading the fight for parity in prize money. In 2022, the race organizers were successful in their efforts to fund live television coverage, which is now a requirement for all Women’s WorldTour races.
However, due to the departure of sponsor Škoda—who announced last year they would not be moving forward with sponsorship for the 2023 race—and the loss of a handful of other sponsors, Women’s Tour organizers SweetSpot disclosed a potential £500,000 shortfall in funding for this year’s race. In addition to the sponsorship left vacant by Škoda, SweetSpot is searching for sponsorships for all four jersey classifications, individual stage partnerships, and naming rights for selected race days.
Through the crowdfunding campaign, which was posted on GoFundMe, supporters can donate as little as £5, which will get their name on a “special heroes’ wall” which will be on display at each stage’s start and finish in this year’s race, which is slated to run June 7 through June 11. Supporters’ names will also be printed in the official race roadbook.
In the event the funding shortfall is not met, supporters’ donations will be refunded.
At the time of this writing, after only a few hours of launching, the campaign has raised nearly £5,000 toward its £100,000 goal.
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