Women's tour organizer Sweet Spot has revealed that additional commercial revenue for the 2023 tournament is "urgently needed." The announcement was made on Thursday when the route for this year's tournament was announced.

The women's tour, which has featured six stages in recent years, will return to a five-day format beginning with the 2023 event.

The race will start in Stratford-upon-Avon on June 7 and conclude with a circuit race in central Birmingham on June 11.

The race route announcement also serves as a call for sponsors for the Women's World Tour event, with Sweet Spot looking for title sponsors and other commercial partners.

"Today's route announcement comes as race organizers have made it clear that the race urgently needs additional commercial revenue to host the 2023 event.

"In addition to the event's title sponsor, three of the race's four prestigious jersey classes (Leader, Mountain, and Best Young Rider) remain available, and for the first time individual stage partnership packages (including naming rights) for some stages have started. The search for auto partners to supply vehicles is also continuing.

The race was first held in 2014 as the Friends Life Women's Tour, followed by Aviva, Ovo, and AJ Bell as title sponsors. Last year the race was held without a title sponsor.

Cottages.com, Brother UK, Accurist, and cycleGuard are among the race's current backers, but the organizations expressed hope that "today's route announcement will generate further commercial interest in the race."

The 2023 Women's Tour will begin with a stage from Stratford-upon-Avon to Royal Leamington Spa, where Chloe Hosking and Sarah Roy have previously won.

The second stage from Northampton to Ampthill is followed by the toughest stage of the race, the third, which takes the peloton through the North York Moors from Dolby Forest to Guisborough.

The final stage links Coleshill and Derby, with the finale in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

"It seems like only yesterday that we crowned Elisa Longo Borghini as the 2022 champion after a dramatic finale in Oxford, but it feels great to announce this year's Women's Tour stage," said race director Mick Bennett.

"Given the current economic climate, we had to work harder than ever to put on a race worthy of the best teams and riders in the world.