Tour of Scandinavia joins Women's WorldTour on August 9

An exciting new stage race has officially taken up a spot on the 2022 Women’s WorldTour calendar.

“The intention was to launch the new race under the name Battle of The North, but the name has been temporarily changed to Tour of Scandinavia with the subtitle Battle of The North,” said general director Roy Moberg. “We have spent several years building the brand “Battle of The North” and significant resources have been invested in advance of the launch, but we do not want to use a name that can be linked to war as the world now appears. In respect with everyone who suffers as a result of the terrible war in Ukraine, we so far brand the riding concept as “Tour of Scandinavia”and tone down the use of the name Battle of The North.”

The route

The race begins on August 9 from the Kongens Nytorv, a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first stage crosses back and forth northbound on the island Sjælland to the finish in Helsingør.

After a transport to the island of Orust north of Gothenburg in Sweden, the Swedish stage will take the peloton north to the border city Strömstad. The route follows the Swedish west coast, one of the most popular holiday areas in the country.

”The Queen Stage” is on Saturday, August 13. It begins near the ski jumping hill Vikersundsbakken. After one lap around Åmot and back to Vikersund, the route goes through Simostrand, the home of Olympic biathlon hero Ole Einar Bjørndalen and north to the lake Krøderen. Following this on the north side to Noresund where the 10 km long climb to the finish at Norefjell Ski &Spa. The race may be decided here.

The final stage goes from the city of Lillestrøm just east of Oslo to Halden. First, riders travel southbound from Fetsund along the lake Øyeren on road 22, then further southeast through Hemnes and Ørje before following the beautiful lakes at Haldenvassdraget to the finishing city. There, three technical laps should create plenty of drama for the crowds in Halden.

Competition and coverage

Last year the Olympic TT-champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) won the Ladies Tour of Norway with a final attack on the climb to Norefjell. Earlier editions have been dominated by the Dutch superstar Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) — the race has largely been for punchy riders with a fast finish, and Vos has dominated that corner of the peloton’s skillset.

The new Norwegian World Team Uno-X will also be represented by riders from all three countries.

The race organizer is also working on having the national teams from Denmark and Norway at the start. 21 teams  of six riders apiece are currently slated to start the Tour of Scandinavia.

As for TV broadcasting, the race will be shown on Eurosport and Discovery. In Norway, TV2 will provide live coverage.