With the inaugural Friends Life Women’s Tour due to start on Wednesday 7th May, next week, the latest sponsor to come on board has just been announced.

Yodel are a leading independent parcel carrier service in the UK, and YodelDirect will be will be sponsoring two intermediate Sprint sections that will take place on each road stage of The Women’s Tour. The top three riders in each of these sections will win points, and the top ten at the stage finish go towards the YodelDirect Points Classification.

Sprint sections are particular exciting parts of the overall race, with riders breaking away and battling to be the first across the Sprint line. Not only do they win points this way, but also bonus seconds which are taken off their overall race time.

“We are very excited to be able to announce YodelDirect’s sponsorship of the Women’s Tour, which is a welcome and long overdue innovation in the UK cycling calendar. Over the past few years Yodel has developed a strong association with the Tour of Britain and we are delighted to be able to further strengthen our association with cycling. Like the event, speed and teamwork is crucial to ensure an efficient delivery service, making this partnership between YodelDirect and The Women’s Tour a winning combination.”

Dick Stead, executive chairman of Yodel

This isn’t Yodels first foray into the world of cycling sponsorship, as they have a long standing association with the Tour of Britain, the men’s equivalent race, the Pearl Izumi Tour Series, and the Tour Ride Sportives.

The Women’s Tour is Britain’s first ever UCI level stage-race for women, and we expect you all to be lining the streets and glued to your screens because it’s your chance to see 96 of the world’s top female cyclists compete in what is going to be a thrilling event. We can’t wait!

The Women’s Tour starts in Oundle in Northamptonshire on Wednesday 7th May and finishes in Bury St Edmunds on Sunday 11th May – and we’re going to be with the event every pedal-stroke of the way. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for all the updates!

Want to know the route? We’ve got the list of All Five Stages of The Women’s Tour

Want to watch, cheer the riders on and get involved in the festivities? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About The Women’s Tour.

The top riders will be fighting for the chance to wear the different leaders jerseys. Here’s our guide to The Women’s Tour Jerseys Explained