Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International – Harrogate

The cycling celebrations got off to a sensational start on Saturday with the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International taking place in glorious conditions before the opening ceremony kicked off the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in the Harrogate Fan Zone.

Tens of thousands of fans turned out to cheer on the best para-cyclists in the world as they competed in the first-ever para-cycling event to be held alongside the UCI Road World Championships. 89 male and female para-athletes battled it out in no less than 26 different races, with Beverley’s Adam Duggleby the very first rider to cross the finish line piloting Hebden Bridge resident Stephen Bate after emerging triumphant in the B class, after pulling away from Team Ireland on the final drag up Parliament Street on the finish on West Park.

Interview – Stephen Bate – Yorkshire 2019 Para Cycling Class B Winner by Cycling Shorts

Team GB rider Stephen Bate chats to CyclingShorts.cc after his win in the Yorkshire 2019 Para-cycling Class B race in Harrogate. All Content ©Anna Magrath / cyclingshorts.cc

 

That’s one of the fastest rides we’ve done all year and it was a real war of attrition. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible and we couldn’t have asked for more. Every town we passed through was absolutely packed and to hear our names being called out was just phenomenal. We’ve never experienced anything like that – not even at the Rio Games. It’s great to come away with a win and we want to thank everyone for all that support.

Stephen Bate

Yorkshire 2019 Paracycling Class B Winner, Team GB

This is the first time para-cycling races have ever been held alongside an able-bodied event and finishing on the same line as the Road World Championships was pretty special.

Adam Duggleby

Yorkshire 2019 Paracycling Class B Winner, Team GB

Dame Sarah Storey meanwhile, was one of five world champions in action and she too romped to victory in the C5 class. It was the first time we had seen Sarah compete wearing her Rainbow Jersey after retaining her title last month in the UCI World Championships.

This is the biggest para crowd I’ve raced in front of since London 2012 and I heard so many cheers and people shouting my name – it was amazing. The course was really good too and held in such a beautiful location. We very rarely get to ride point to point but Yorkshire’s taken the bull by the horns and hopefully this can be a blueprint for how para-cycling events are run worldwide. It was a really sensational event and I’m proud to have been part of it.

Dame Sarah Storey

Yorkshire 2019 Paracycling C5 Class Winner, Team GB

Interview – Will Bjergfelt Yorkshire 2019 Para Cycling International – C5 Winner by Cycling Shorts

CyclingShorts.cc caught up with Will Bjergfelt after his C5 win in the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International race. All content ©Anna Magrath | CyclingShorts.cc

 

Interview – Ireland’s C5 Team – Vereker & Forristal – Yorkshire 2019 Para Cycling International by Cycling Shorts

We caught up with Ireland’s C5 Team – Damien Vereker & Paul Forristal – after they came 2nd in the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International in Harrogate. Apologies for the poor sound quality. All content ©Anna Magrath | CyclingShorts.cc

 

The Men’s C5 win went to Will Bjergfelt, beating Alex Jones by over a minute, and a further one and a half minutes behind in third place was Jonathan Gildea.

In the men’s C2 Class Team GB’s Matthew Robertson beat Australia’s Darren Hicks by 7 seconds on the line. I caught up with them both for a quick chat at the finish line, they were in high spirits.

The was awesome, getting more exposure for the sport and parity, after competing in this race, after being part of this event, it’s really a new experience. Having everyone just treat you the same as all other competitors, it really spurs you on and makes you work harder for your results. It’s been amazing!

Matthew Robertson

Winner Men's C2, Team GB

A course like this is bloody tough, and so it should be, we are athletes and we should be given a course that’s really hard and challenges us. Having this number of people cheering it’s unbelievable. We would be lucky to have an eighth of this crowd at one of our top races, for the whole road race, let alone just at the finish like today. It’s cool.

Darren Hicks

2nd - Men's C2, Team Australia

The Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International was the first-ever para-cycling event to take place alongside a UCI Road World Championships.

The event was organised by Yorkshire 2019 and British Cycling and included 26 races in total, all held on one day, with men’s and women’s contests taking place across all four para-cycling classifications. Setting off from Beverley, Tadcaster and Wetherby, every race finished in Harrogate and the results will count towards qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Highlights of the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International will be screened on BBC Two from 1pm on Sunday as part of the live coverage of the Team Trial Mixed Relay.

I think this para event took cycling to a whole new level in Yorkshire, and I didn’t think there were many levels left! I was in Tadcaster at one of the three start locations and the way the town embraced it was amazing. Beverley was buzzing as well and Wetherby equally great. Harrogate obviously deserves a mention too – it was amazing – and today was a real first for Yorkshire. We’re so proud it’s been a success as both ourselves and our partners pushed very hard for a para event to be held alongside the Championships. Those efforts have definitely been rewarded.

Over 36,000 people were in the Fan Zone as well today too and it’s been a real party atmosphere – very reminiscent of the Tour de France Grand Départ back in 2014. We can’t wait for the Championships now and that’s going to be equally spectacular.

Peter Dodd

Commercial Director, Welcome to Yorkshire

I’ve been completely blown away by the weather, crowds, scenery and support. The racing was brilliant too and all the riders were telling me it’s the best event to happen since London 2012. That means so much to me as we really wanted this to be a meaningful event, held on exactly the same stage as the Championships. The dream has become a reality today.

Andy Hindley

CEO, Yorkshire 2019

Once the para action had concluded, attention immediately turned to the Fan Zone as huge crowds saw UCI President David Lappartient officially declare the UCI Road World Championships open alongside Yorkshire 2019 CEO Andy Hindley, British Cycling CEO Julie Harrington and Welcome to Yorkshire Commercial Director Peter Dodd.

The Championships’ racing will start on Sunday with the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay that will see male and female athletes compete alongside each other for the very first time.

About the 2019 UCI Road World Championships:

The UCI Road World Championships have only been held in Great Britain on three previous occasions, the most recent of which was at Goodwood in 1982. The 2019 Championships will take place in Yorkshire between 22-29 September.

The Championships commence on the Sunday 22 September with the maiden Team Time Trial Mixed Relay and the programme continues through to Sunday 29 September with Individual Time Trials and Road Races for Junior (17/18 years), Under 23 and Elite male and female riders.

Approximately 1,400 riders are set to compete from 90 countries and the action will be beamed to a global TV audience of over 250 million.

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Matteo Trentin retakes OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead after Wirral stage

Dylan Groenewegen made it three wins in five days at the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain as he sprinted to win the race’s first-ever Wirral stage in Birkenhead Park on Wednesday.

The Team Jumbo – Visma rider added the stage five victory to Saturday’s success in Kirkcudbright and his triumph on Newcastle’s Grey Street on Monday in dominant style.

Great Britain’s Matt Walls notably placed second, with Matteo Trentin’s third-place finish and subsequent time bonus putting the Mitchelton-SCOTT rider back into the OVO Energy green jersey of race leader leading into Thursday’s time trial in Pershore.

I like this race, it’s a perfect race. I like to race here. It’s another hat-trick [in a race] for me so I’m really proud of that but I’m really motivated to get another win.

There was a small climb at the end of today’s stage – it was not a hard climb but the team did a very good job there. We stayed in a good position with one kilometre to go and then we went full gas. The lead-out was perfect. I’m very happy that I was able to take the win. The team worked very hard today and I’m really proud of them.

Dylan Groenewegen

Stage 5 Winner, Team Jumbo – Visma

Trentin now leads by three seconds from Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus), with a handful of riders also within striking distance ahead of the time trial.  One rider who will no longer be a threat to the overall was former winner Steve Cummings (Team Dimension Data), who crashed out of the top 20 and the race on his home roads on the Wirral.

The Italian also leads the Cetaphil Points jersey classification by nine points from Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy).

 Thanks to his presence in the day’s breakaway Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) moved to a 21 point lead over Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) in the SKODA King of the Mountains and also won the public vote for the Wahooligan Combativity award.

Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) kept the Eisberg Sprints jersey, despite a fall in the closing stages, with a four point lead over his nearest rival.

It was finally a kind of easy day even if it’s not as easy as it looks on television. But I think it just gives the guys a little bit of a relax today and try to focus on your sprint and it came out pretty good, I knew that I had to come from the back, to be honest I was a little bit too much but Groenewegen here just demonstrated once again that he’s one step above all the rest and I thought I had a good race and take bonus seconds to be back in the general classification lead.

Matteo Trentin

Leader after Stage 5, Mitchelton-SCOTT

All images ©SWPix 

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Mathieu van der Poel wins in Kendal to take OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead

Mathieu van der Poel moved into the OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead on Wednesday after winning stage four from Gateshead atop Kendal’s famed Beast Banks climb.

The 24-year-old Dutchman attacked from a reduced peloton 200m up the gruelling Cumbrian finishing climb, crossing the line three seconds ahead of his nearest challengers Jasper de Buyst (Lotto Soudal) and Simon Clarke (EF Education First).

While overnight race leader Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) placed ninth on the stage, van der Poel’s 10-second time bonus for his stage victory moved the Corendon – Circus Cycling Team rider into the OVO Energy green jersey at the race’s halfway point.

Trentin retains his lead in the Cetaphil points jersey, however, while Jake Scott (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) and Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) kept hold of the SKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints jerseys respectively.

Interview – Mathieu Van Der Poel OVOToB Leader Stage 4 2019 by Cycling Shorts

Race leader Mathieu Van Der Poel talks to the media after stage 4 of the OVO Tour of Britain 2019. All content ©www.cyclingshorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

 

I knew that the finish suited me really well if I had good legs. I was confident to do a good finish here I think the team did a great job. This climb is perfect for me. I really like those finish straights and it’s something I’m good at especially after a hard stage like today.

 Attacking early was a bit of a gamble because I didn’t really know where the finish line was. I got a bit bumped in yesterday at the finish and I didn’t want it to happen again today, so I just went full gas with 300 metres to go.

 It was actually a bit far but I immediately had a gap. With 100 metres to go the road got a bit easier so it was big enough to keep that gap until the finish line.

Mathieu Van Der Poel

Stage 4 Winner & GC Leader, Corendon Circus Cycling Team

Van der Poel sits one second ahead of Trentin on the general classification, with de Buyst a further six seconds in arrears, while a further 12 riders sit within 20 seconds of the race lead. The Corendon Circus rider believes that Worcestershire’s time trial stage on Thursday will be key to the overall victory.

It’s going to be a battle for sure but I think the time trial [on stage six] will be decisive and it’s been a long, long time since I’ve done one. I don’t know where I stand in that discipline right now so it’s going to be really hard to be in touch with the best time trial guys here.

Mathieu Van Der Poel

Stage 4 Winner & GC Leader, Corendon Circus Cycling Team

An exciting stage that had begun from the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead was lit up early on by aggressive riding by Team INEOS duo Eddie Dunbar and Dylan van Baarle, with the latter clinching the Wahooligan Combativity Award for his ride. 

However it was a different three man breakaway that had really enlivened proceedings, going clear on the final SKODA King of the Mountains climb at Gawthrop above Dentdale after a diminished peloton had come back together.

The attack of Lotto Soudal rider Tiesj Benoot triggered the move, but it was home rider James Shaw (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) who went away along with Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy) and Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) building a small lead that never looked enough.

That ultimately proved to be so at the foot of Beast Banks climb, as the moment that many cycling fans watching were waiting for as van der Poel unleashed his sprint in dominant fashion.

 

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Dylan Groenewegen wins North of Tyne OVO Energy Tour of Britain stage

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen made light work of an uphill finish to sprint to his second stage victory on this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain in three days in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Monday.

The Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling rider crossed the line comfortably ahead of pre-stage favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon – Circus), Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) and team-mate Mike Teunissen following the 500-metre uphill drag at the end of the stage from Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) placed fifth to retain the OVO Energy green jersey and Cetaphil Points jersey going into Tuesday’s fourth stage.

Interview – Harry Tanfield – Stage 3 Tour Of Britain 2019 by Cycling Shorts

Harry Tanfield talks to the press after stage 3 of the Tour of Britain, he won the Wahoo combativity award. He talks about losing his mum last week in hospital after having an operation. All content ©www.cyclingshorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

 

The finish was a little steeper than I was thinking but it was OK in the end – I took the win. Thanks to my team, it was a really good day for usNormally this type of finish is not so good for me but today I can get the win, so that’s really good.

Dylan Groenewegen

Stage 3 Winner, Team Jumbo – Visma

The race being held briefly at a level crossing had threatened to give a six rider breakway, containing Harry Tanfield (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN), Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes), Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling), Rob Scott (Team WIGGINS Le Col) and Belgian due Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) and Christophe Noppe (Sport Vlaanderen Baloise) their head.  When racing resumed Mitchelton-SCOTT and Team Jumbo – Visma worked to bring them back, finally succeeding as the race hit the Newcastle Quayside with one kilometre remaining.

Cimolai’s top three position marginally reduced Trentin’s overnight lead to seven seconds, with van der Poel and Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) a further four seconds in arrears.

It was actually harder than I expected, the railway gate mixed up the plan a little bit, the breakaway got time to recover a little more than we hoped for and of course the riders out there were really strong. We needed a good effort to get them back.

 Tomorrow’s going to be the first real GC day, then of course the time trial is going to be the second one. In the Tour of Britain there is always space for some attacks and for things that can happen every day.

Matteo Trentin

OVO Energy Green jersey holder, Team Jumbo – Visma

It was really closeWe knew the time difference but in the last 10km it was going really quickly down so that was enough for us.

Dylan Groenewegen

Stage 3 Winner, Team Jumbo – Visma

While there was disappointment to not see one of the four domestic riders taking the victory in front of Newcastle city centre’s big crowds, fans did help vote Tanfield the winner of the day’s Wahooligan Combativity award, in what is the most local stage for the North Yorkshireman.

In the Eisberg Sprints competition Rory Townsend reclaimed the red jersey, while built what is a commanding lead in the SKODA King of the Mountains competition, now 13 points clear of nearest challenger De Bondt.

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Dylan Groenewegen wins opening stage of OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen returned to the OVO Energy Tour of Britain in style on Saturday, winning the opening stage of the 2019 race between Glasgow and Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

Groenewegen, a two-time stage winner in the event, beat Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) and former European champion Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) to the line in the Dumfries & Galloway market town after a textbook lead-out from his Jumbo – Visma Cycling team-mates.

He takes the OVO Energy green jersey of race leader going into Sunday’s second stage in the Scottish Borders.

Dylan Groenewegen Green Jersey Leader Stg 1 Tour of Britain by Cycling Shorts

Dylan Groenewegen talks after taking hold of the OVO green jersey on stage on of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain. All content ©www.cyclingshorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

 

It was perfect. We had no help today so we did it all as a team, we rode very strongly to catch the breakaway make it a sprint. I could take my own line; it was a very good lead out. I was on the wheel of Trentin, and sprinted full gas.

 I’ll look at the road book this evening and hope to win another stage. I think tomorrow’s a new chance and I will try again.

 

Dylan Groenewegen

Stage 1 Winner & GC Leader, Team Jumbo Visma

Team Jumbo Visma had worked tirelessly on the front of the peloton throughout the stage south from Glasgow city centre, with little assistance from other teams.  Their work kept the day’s breakaway pinned with never more than a two minute advantage, as Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes), James Fouche (Team WIGGINS Le Col), Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) and Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) toiled in the warm Scottish sunshine on the race’s longest day.

Consolation for Townsend was the Eisberg Sprints jersey, Wahooligan Combativity Award and a position second in the general classification thanks to time bonuses, three seconds behind Groenewegen.

It was an absolutely epic stage, the stage itself it started really hard, it seemed like a lot more people were interested in trying to get away this year, I think maybe just the nature of the course means that people don’t necessarily know what they’re going to get out of the race so maybe there’s a little bit more interest in the breakaway so yeah it took a while to go and then once it was the right formation of riders we were away but it seemed like quite a nervous day, we never got more than a minute forty and for 200 kilometres you’re always sort of looking over your shoulder which is not always too much fun but all in all we’re really happy with the day.

 The Wahooligan combativity is a nice extra bonus, that for me is the icing on the cake because to be voted by the people watching at home is so flattering, really, really nice.

Rory Townsend

Eisberg Sprints Jersey & Wahooligan Combativity Award, Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes

Rory Townsend Sprint & Combativity Jersey – Stage 1 ToB 2019 by Cycling Shorts

Pro Cycling Interviews, blogs and concise cycling posts from the pocket sized cyclist & friends. Come and join us! www.cyclingshorts.cc. On our Facebook page we gather all the cycling goodness from

 

 

Jacob Scott led the race over all three SKODA King of the Mountains climbs to take the best climbers jersey, already with a five point advantage on fellow escapee James Fouche.

Stage Two takes in 165 kilometres of the picturesque Scottish Borders, starting and finishing in Kelso’s main cobbled square, passing through Coldstream, Duns and Melrose during the day.

 

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Women’s Tour of Scotland Stage 2 – Glasgow to Perth

Saturday 10 August, Perth – 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) is the first rider to wear the Baillie Gifford Yellow Jersey as she claimed a sensational stage win at the Women’s Tour of Scotland in Perth.

With an impressive sprint in the final 200m, she capped off what was a thrilling day of racing on day two. A bunch sprint finish through the packed streets of Perth also saw 21-year-old Emma White (Rally UHC Cycling) and Stine Borgli (Norway National Team) earn a place on the podium going into the final stage in Edinburgh on Sunday.

Earlier in the stage it looked like there could be one main contender for the Baillie Gifford Leaders Jersey, with Brodie Chapman (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) holding a 1 minute 45 second lead ahead of the peloton around the 90km mark, but she was quickly caught by the remaining riders as the race headed for an exhilarating finish.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) held on to the EventScotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey for a second successive stage after her team’s impressive performance on the climb, while her teammate Leah Thomas tops the Motorola Solutions Queen of Sprints competition standings.

Emma White (Rally UHC Cycling) took the Deloitte Best Young Rider Jersey for her second-placed effort.

“Myself and my team came here wanting to win. We knew we could do that by winning stages. We were ready to win yesterday’s, if it weren’t for the rain, but today we managed to achieve our goal. We really played the game. When you have your teammates all in the right place, you know you will be able to win the sprint. I’m really happy about the result, not just for myself individually, but for the whole team.”

Alison Jackson

Stage 2 Winner, Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank

“I am so pleased with my result. I was so close to the win, which makes it a little bit bittersweet because for a split second I thought, I can win this. Alison Jackson is such a powerful sprinter with so much race experience over here in Europe which is exactly what myself and my team here are trying to gain. I couldn’t be happier to finish in second. Bigla was the most powerful team out there. They had strength in numbers but I parked myself right behind them, knowing it would be a strong lead-out. With about 200m to go, I came around Leah, their sprinter, and almost imagined to hold it. I loved the finish in Perth, we were forced to take chances. It’s the best result we have had here in Europe so I’m just so happy.”

Emma White

Best Young Rider Jersey (after finishing in second), Rally UHC

Interview – Alison Jackson 2nd Stage Winner WToS 2019 by Cycling Shorts

Alison Jackson Stage 2 Winner in Perth of the Women’s Tour of Scotland 2019 talks to the media. All content ©www.cyclingshorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

The Glasgow crowds flocked in their hundreds to George Square on Saturday morning to cheer on the 87 riders as they set off for Stage 2 towards Perth.

111 Jumi Lee (Korea National Team) withdrew before the race start.

Three riders attempted to go clear on 17km but the peloton reacted quickly to keep the main field together going into the first sprint of the stage in Aberfoyle.

37.8km Aberfoyle sprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):

1. (5pts) 2 Neah Evans (Scotland)

2. (3pts) 44 Annelies Dom (Lotto-Soudal)

3. (2pts) 82 Chiara Consonni (Valcar Cylance Cycling)

4. (1pts) 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)

45km Duke’s Pass (EventScotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey competition):

1. (8pts) 21 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla)

2. (6pts) 23 Elise Chabbey (Bigla)

3. (4pts) 36 Joscelin Lowden (DROPS)

4. (2pts) 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

5. (1pt) 122 Vita Heine (Norway National Team)

“The finish was so close, but I am thrilled with my position. The last few kilometres were very hectic. My teammate tried to attack, but she couldn’t make it through. In the end, we are very happy with our positioning.”

Stine Borgli

Finished 3rd - Stage 2, Norway National Team

The gruelling 4km-long Duke’s Pass ascent caused the peloton to splinter into several groups, eight riders broke off at the front with 23 Elise Chabbey, 24 Nikola Noskova, 25 Mikayla Harvey and 26 Leah Thomas of Bigla all amongst the pack alongside 36 Joscelin Lowden (DROPS), 64 Krista Doebel-Hickok (Rally UHC), 71 Brodie Chapman (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) and 121 Stine Borgli (Norway National Team).

At 50km, the leading group had a 15 second advantage ahead of the next rider, 122 Vita Heine (Norway National Team) and 1m 5 secs ahead of the peloton, before Heine caught up with the leaders

Five kilometres further into the Trossachs trail, the nine leaders had taken a 1 minute 15 secs lead over chaser 94 Ursa Pintar (BTC City Ljubljana) who was quickly caught by the peloton.

At 70km, the leading group were 1minute and 29 secs ahead of the peloton as they approached the Strathyre sprint – won by Leah Thomas, allowing her to wear the Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey for day three.

71.4km Strathyresprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):

1. (5pts) 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

2. (3pts) 121 Stine Borgli (Norway National Team)

3. (2pts) 64 Krista Doebel-Hickok (Rally UHC Cycling)

4. (1pts) 23 Elise Chabbey (Bigla)

“Winning the sprints jersey wasn’t really in my plans today, it just turned out that way on the road. I was fortunate enough to pick up a couple of points yesterday just by maintaining position and following moves. We were really aggressive with four of us in the leading pack after the Queen of the Mountains and we really wanted to push a break. We knew it was a long shot to hold it 100km to the finish because we don’t have a real sprinter here. My team did an awesome lead-out for me going into the finish and it’s a shame we didn’t manage to get on the podium but I’m delighted we have hold of the sprints and mountain jerseys.”

Leah Thomas

Motorola Queen of the Sprints Jersey after Stage 2, Team Bigla

With the hills behind them, the peloton were able to catch the main group on the flat roads towards Perth, 71 Brodie Chapman (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) being the only rider to hold her lead as she rode alone 34 seconds in front of the main group with 43km left to go.

Ten kilometres later and Chapman had extended her lone advantage to 1 minute 45 secs, the Baillie Gifford Leaders jersey in sight for the Australian rider. It was this effort which saw her end the day with the most combative rider award.

110.4km Crieffsprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):

1. (5pts) 71 Brodie Chapman (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)

2. (3pts) 91 Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana)

3. (2pts) 13 Ahreum Na (Ale Cipollini)

4. (1pts) 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)

The peloton pushed on and the final stretch of the race made for an incredible chase as Brodie Chapman’s lead was cut from 1 minute 45 seconds to just 9 seconds with 10km left to ride.

As the riders approached Perth, Chapman was caught by the peloton and the final 3km into the city centre turned into a bunch sprint, with Chapman’s Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank teammate Alison Jackson edging over the finish line, with Emma White (Rally UHC) and Stine Borgli (Norway National Team) close behind in second and third.

 “Going over the top of Duke’s Pass first was amazing, but I have such a strong team. They did amazingly well today – they’re so strong. We tried some bold tactics and they worked pretty well! We did so well in the climb and we decided to go for the sprint as well. We did really well considering we don’t have an exceptional sprinter here. We can be so proud for how we raced as a team today. We will have huge smiles on our faces tonight.”

Cecilie Ludwig Uttrup

EventScotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey after Stage 2, Team Bigla

Stage 1 Results

Stage 2 Glasgow to Perth – stage result:

1. 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) 03h 24m 27s

2. 61 Emma White (Rally UHC Cycling) +4s

3. 121 Stine Borgli (Norway National Team) +4s

Baillie Gifford Leaders Jersey (General Classification) standings: 

1. 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)

2. 61 Emma White (Rally UHC Cycling)

3. 121 Stine Borgli (Norway National Team) +4s

Jerseys

Baillie Gifford Leaders Jersey: overall race leader: 73 Alison Jackson (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)

Motorola Solutions Queen of Sprints Jersey: 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

EventScotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey: mountain classification leader – 21 Cecilie Ludwig Uttrup (Bigla)

Deloitte Best Young Rider Jersey: 61 Emma White (Rally UHC Cycling)

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

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