Sixteen teams are signed to ride, and each can field six riders. Most teams have yet to announce who will be on their squad for the Women’s Tour – but here’s the lowdown on the teams and a little more detail on some of the big hitters…

• Boels Dolmans – Team to Lizzie Armitstead, winner of the UCI Road World Cup in 2014 and the 2015 Women’s Tour of Qatar, the roster also includes 2014 Tour of Flanders winner and 2015 Tour of Qatar stage winner Ellen van Dijk, as well as Wall Street wonder Evelyn Stevens.

• Rabo Liv – Marianne Vos of Rabo might well have been our top favourite, but we already know she won’t be on the start line. Team mate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who holds the UCI World Champion title in Road and Cyclocross, would be another contender, but she is recovering from sciatica and not expected to race until July. 2015 Fleche Wallone winner Anna van der Breggen is also on the team that includes a host of other strong riders.

• Matrix Fitness – Matrix were the only domestic team racing in 2014, and they’re back this year with a pro license, plus Laura Trott and Elinor Barker, both of whom have told us they’re keen to race the Tour. Nine time cyclocross British Champ Helen Wyman is also on the squad and likely to ride the tour.

• Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International – Resplendent in pink and purple, the team includes Paralympic Champion and Paralympic Hour Record Holder Dame Sarah Storey, plus track specialists Jo Rowsell, and Katie Archibald.

• Wiggle Honda – The team has a host of strong riders to choose from, including impeccable sprinter Georgia Bronzini, track specialist Dani King, Jolien D’Hoore who took first at the 2015 Ronde van Drenthe and 2015 Tour of Flanders champ Elisa Longo Borghini.

• United Healthcare Pro Cycling – Worthy of a special mention, Hannah Barnes joined United Healthcare this year, and was Best Young Rider at the Tour of California, so we hope to see the British 22-year-old in the white jersey at the Women’s Tour.

• Velocio SRAM – To name just a few, the team includes Lisa Brennauer, who was second in the UCI World Road Race, and Loren Rowney who you may remember from this crash… 

• Orica AIS – The team will field some strong riders, and we hope to see them bring Emma Johansson, who was 2nd overall in both the Points and General Classification last year, just behind Marinne Vos.
• Liv Plantur – The team includes Lucy Garner, last year’s Best British Rider and two-time junior world champion.
• Lotto Soudal – The Belgium team was home to Emma Pooley last year, and now has a team of fourteen riders to choose from.

• Ale Cipollini – This is the first year the Italian team have raced the Women’s Tour, and they’ll be unmissable for their day-glo kit
• Bigla Pro Cycling – This is the first year Bigla Pro Cycling have sent a team, and they’ve already announced their line up as last year’s Strava Queen of the Mountains winner, Sharon Laws, plus Dutch and Finnish National Champions Iris Slappendel and Lotta Lepistö respectively, former Junior Track World Champion Vera Koedooder and Swiss duo Emilie Aubry and Caroline Baur.
• Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies – UCI Continental team from the US
• Poitou Charentes – Futuroscope 86 – Pro French team, Roxane Fournier won both the 1st Grand Prix de Dottignies and Stage 3 of the Tour of Chongming.

• Germany
• USA National Team

Details about which riders each team will be sending should come out this week, so keep your eyes open…