The Women's Tour, which last week issued an emergency call for sponsors as it has yet to secure the funds needed to run the 2023 event, is now turning to crowdfunding to fill the gap.

The British race, which was at the forefront of prize money equalization in 2018 with the support of then title sponsor OVO Energy, has encountered many financial difficulties since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, prize money was lowered when the Women's Tour returned from a one-year hiatus in 2021, and in 2022, a successful appeal was made to help fund the mandatory live television coverage of all Women's World Tour races.

The race, which will take place in 2023, June 7-11, has received support from cottages.com, Brother UK, Accurist, and cycleGuard. However, SKODA, which was announced last year as a partner through 2024, will not participate, and some sponsorship slots have yet to be filled. In addition, there are four jersey classifications and partnership packages for each stage, including naming rights for specific days.

Organizer Sweet Spot announced that it is raising funds to cover "ever-increasing organizational costs" and the lack of sponsorship revenue for the women's tour, which this year reduced the number of stages to a five-day event.

"In similar campaigns, we've seen fans have a huge impact on elite cycling events from a commercial and emotional standpoint," said Nick Bull, Women's Tour PR and Digital Manager.

"We've been inundated with messages this past week from people wanting to support the race, so it seemed logical to launch a crowdfunding campaign.

The organizers added that they hope the crowdfunding campaign will bring additional commercial interest to the race, which was won last year by Elisa Longo Borghini and has Marianne Vos and Lizzie Deignan (twice) on the winners list.

Supporters who donate as little as £5 will have their names featured on the Heroes Wall, which will be displayed at the start and finish of each stage of the 2023 race, and printed in the race's official road book In less than a day, £2,831 of the £100,000 goal was In less than a day, £2,831 of the £100,000 goal had been raised. Donations will be refunded if the race does not take place.

It is not only British events that are feeling the pinch this year, with the National Road Series down two events for men and one for women, and Sweet Spot last month announced that the Tour, a team-based collection of criterium races held in May since 2009, would be cancelled by the Tour The series, a team-based collection of criterium races held in May since 2009, will be suspended for one year due to the difficult economic climate.

Lizzie Deignan hopes the Women's Tour will not follow the same path, and the two-time winner of the race plans to use the event as a key stepping stone for her return to racing after the birth of her second child, with the queen stage in her native Yorkshire a clear target.

"[The Women's Tour] is something that has been on my mind during training rides," she told PA News.

"If it comes to fruition, I'll have to rethink my whole calendar."

"It would be a huge loss for the British teams, both in terms of getting the opportunity to race on a stage like that and internationally, because there aren't many stage races in June, so it's a really important race and great preparation for the national championships and the Tour de France."