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The sun shone brightly for Lizzy Banks of Sunsport Velo RT in the season opener of the HSBC-UK British Cycling 2017 National Women’s Road Series the Tour of the Wolds, won in two-hours and thirty-four minuets and thirty-five seconds.

The first of nine rounds and a new course to the calendar, the Tour of the Wolds covers a distance of one-hundred and one kilometres setting out from Louth North-Westerly through South Elkinton and Binbrooke before turning Northerly at Tealby and onto a circuit through Caistor, then returning back to Louth and a three-kilometre twisty circuit through the town centre streets.

One-hundred riders set off at nine in the morning out of Louth, but split into three groups before arriving at the Caistor loop. The front group of around thirty riders rode up the testing climb at Nettleton Top but as they returned back towards Louth, six girls broke free.

Three times series winner Nikki Juniper [Team Ford Ecoboost], National Time Trial Champion Hayley Simmond [Team WNT], Anna Christian [Drops Cycling Team], Lizzy Banks [Sunsport Velo], Chanel Mason [Storey Racing] and Natalie Grinczer [Team WNT] arrived back on the finishing circuit with a one-minuet and ten second lead as Drops Cycling and Cycle Team OnForm drove the chase.

With three-hundred metres remaining, Juniper clipped wheels bringing her down and out of contention leaving five girls to fight for the win. Banks kept out of trouble and maintained her momentum going into the final left-hand corner before sprinting clearly for the line and a marvellous win.

Rebecca Durrell [Drops Cycling Team] brought the chasing bunch to the line some thirty-two seconds down on a beautiful day in Lincolnshire, much to the appreciation of the crowd that had lined the circuit in this first national race in the series.

Lizzy Banks leads the National Women’s Road Series going into round two the Essex Giro on Saturday 22^nd April.

Click here to read our interview with Lizzy.