Tour of Britain Women – Race Report

6th June – Stage 2: Hartlepool – Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Read more on Mara Roldan’s win in stage 2 here.

5th June – Stage 1: Dalby Forest – Redcar

The opening stage of the Tour of Britain Women saw a controlled start, with the peloton staying compact for much of the day. But the calm didn’t last: the race came to life on the final categorized climb of Langburn’s Bank, where the decisive move was made. Three riders launched an attack over the top, with Lecourt and Faulkner eventually opening up a gap of up to 33 seconds. Despite a strong chase behind, including efforts from Team Picnic PostNL riders Mara Roldan and Megan Jastrab in the front group, the duo managed to stay clear. Lecourt eventually took the stage win, while Jastrab finished strongly to take 7th place in the sprint from the reduced bunch.

After the stage, Jastrab said: “It was a short stage to start the Tour of Britain, with only 80km. We rode well as a team and wanted to go for a sprint, but the race broke apart on the steep kickers in the middle of the course. Mara and I made it into the front group of 23 and were just following moves, hoping it would come back together. Unfortunately, with just under 3km to go, Mara had a mechanical, but she was really strong. In the final, they opened the sprint up early to try and catch the two riders off the front. I tried my best to take the opportunity to sprint, but I just didn’t have the legs in the end and finished 7th. I’m pleased with the feeling on the bike and excited for the coming days of racing with the team!”

Photo credit: SWpix.com