THE women's edition of the Tour de Yorkshire will have another coming-of-age moment this week as it expands to two stages for the first time.

What began has a glorified criterium around York in 2015 has quickly grown to become one of the biggest races outside of the Women's WorldTour calendar, but this is the step organisers have been pushing for since the very beginning.

To do it, they needed permission from British Cycling to expand the men's race to four days.

That allowed them to design routes which take the race to all four corners of the county while still having starts and finishes close enough together that race officials could cover a stage for the women in the morning and get back to the start in time for the men later in the day.

Welcome To Yorkshire chief executive Sir Gary Verity has been talking about the need to make the change since the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire wrapped up in Leeds in 2015, with the necessary permissions finally coming this winter.

And so this year's women's race will see riders tackle a 132.5km route from Beverley to Doncaster on Thursday before racing 128km between Barnsley and the summit finish on the Cow and Calf outside Ilkley a day later.

Adding one extra day may seem like a small change but it will fundamentally alter the dynamic of the racing.

"You have to think now whether you're going for a stage victory or the overall general classification" said Dani Rowe, who will race for the Great Britain squad in Yorkshire.

Rowe, who picked up bronze in the Commonwealth Games road race on Australia's Gold Coast four weeks ago, will begin as one of the favourites in the absence of 2017 winner Lizzie Deignan - unable to defend her title this year after announcing her pregnancy.

"I always absolutely love riding in the UK," said Rowe, who finished 10th behind Deignan in Harrogate last year. "It's amazing the support we get on the side of the road. I'm really looking forward to it."

The Tour de Yorkshire may not be part of the Women's WorldTour but it has shown itself determined to push the boundaries for women's cycling. When organisers announced a £50,000 prize fund for the race in 2016, it was the record for a women's race and exceeded the pot available to the men at the time.

That quickly prompted a response from the Women's Tour and RideLondon to substantially increase their own prize funds, while attracting a world-class field of teams and riders to Yorkshire.

The prize fund remains a huge part of the draw, and this year the stage winners in the women's race will receive 40% more than the men's stage winners.

"The top riders in the world are not just attracted to the fact we're able to offer one of the largest prize funds in the sport and full live TV coverage, it's because they get to ride in front of massive crowds, receive a warm Yorkshire welcome and the terrain provides a tough and varied test," Verity said.

"With the race doubling in size from one day to two in 2018, we're able to offer something for everyone, and our first-ever summit finish on the Cow and Calf is sure to guarantee a gripping conclusion."

This year's expansion shows the ambitions in Yorkshire remain serious, so the potential to move the goalposts further in the future remains.

"It's really good for women's cycling," Rowe said. "It's all progress and that's all we can ask for. We're seeing more races, more coverage so we can't complain. It's getting better and better."