Old Lathallian Arabella Blackburn has taken another major step in her cycling career, making her debut at the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women as the youngest rider in this year’s race.
At just 18 years old, Arabella lined up alongside some of the biggest names in professional cycling as part of the Handsling Alba Development Road Team, taking on what is the biggest and most demanding race of her career so far.
And she certainly made her presence known.
During the opening 158.9km stage, which started and finished in Cockermouth, Cumbria, Arabella launched an ambitious start with around 90km remaining. Alongside Picnic PostNL rider Audrey De Keersmaeker, she established a breakaway which at one point opened up a gap of almost three minutes over the main peloton.
It was an impressive display of confidence from Arabella, the youngest rider in the field, particularly on her very first Tour of Britain stage.
Arabella’s time at the front was unfortunately disrupted in rather unusual circumstances when she was stung by a wasp on her leg. Despite the pain, she continued racing and completed the stage after more than four hours on the bike – the longest race of her career to date.
Reflecting on the experience afterwards, Arabella said:
“It was five of the hardest consecutive days of racing I’ve done, but so happy to have got stuck in right to the end. From getting in the break on day 1 to hanging on through the hillier days and then getting in some moves again on day 5, it was such an amazing experience! I enjoyed the racing on UK roads, the amazing crowds and the scenery, definitely a week I won’t forget.”
Far from being discouraged by the demanding opening stage, Arabella continued racing valiantly making the time cuts and completing all five stages.
Arabella joined the Handsling Alba Development Road Team for the 2026 season and recently secured second place at the Curlew Cup, part of the Lloyds National Women’s Road Race series. Last year, she also competed on the international stage at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, further establishing herself as one of Britain’s exciting emerging cycling talents.
To now line up in the Tour of Britain at only 18 represents another significant milestone in her journey. She is back home this week before the final block of racing starts.
Congratulations, Arabella!