Organizers of the Women's Tour have announced that they will host a three-stage virtual race on the RGT cycling platform from June 17-19.

Race organizer SweetSpot has announced the 15 professional teams participating in the new SKODA V-Series Women's Tour, which benefits charities Breast Cancer Now and Mind.

Several leading teams, including Trek Segafredo and Bigla Katusha, were quick to show their support for this virtual race.

"We have been working with RGT Cycling since 2019 to develop a virtual version of our event to bring the race and athletes to a new audience. As soon as the [COVID-19] situation forced us to postpone the Women's Tour in March, we moved our plans forward and worked tirelessly as a team to make the first Škoda V-SERIES Women's Tour a reality. eSports is a sport that is both an important and growing segment of both the sporting and professional cycling worlds, and we look forward to bringing our event to screens around the world on June 17.

The event opens with a 38.4km stage to Berry St. Edmonds in Suffolk. The second stage will take the riders on a 35.7 km race to Barton Dassett in Warwickshire. The race concludes with a 35 km circuit race around Canary Wharf, London's business district.

The first two stages will use RGT Cycling's "Magic Road" software. This will allow event organizers to simulate routes and profiles using GPX files. The final stage will use RGT Cycling's ultra-realistic Real Road.

Public participants will also be able to ride the three routes and are encouraged to donate £5 to raise money for Breast Cancer Now and Mind.

All three stages will be broadcast live and streamed online on various platforms.

Sweet Spot announced last month that it had been forced to cancel the Women's Tour, originally scheduled for June, due to health and safety precautions surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Organizers plan to return to the Women's World Tour calendar in 2021.

"We are delighted that the Women's Tour will continue in 2020, bringing exciting live sport to everyone at a time when it is most needed," said Lisa Kirkbright, communications manager at Skoda UK. [Škoda is passionate about supporting the next generation of elite cyclists and it is great to see the first edition of this virtual series replacing the postponed Women's Tour. I'm excited to see how this innovative new approach to cycling will inspire future generations to get on their bikes."