Interview – Leah Thomas WToS Winner 2019

by | Aug 13, 2019

Leah Thomas, Bigla Pro Cycling Stage 3 Winner Women’s Tour of Scotland – Edinburgh & GC Overall for the 1st edition of race.

Interview – Leah Thomas WToS Winner 2019 by Cycling Shorts

Leah Thomas, Bigla Pro Cycling Stage 3 Winner Women’s Tour of Scotland – Edinburgh & GC Overall for the 1st edition of race. All content ©www.CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

 

Image ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

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

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

by | Aug 11, 2019

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)

All images ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

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 WRT, Team Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Interview – Alison Jackson 2nd Stage Winner WToS 2019

by | Aug 10, 2019

Alison Jackson Stage 2 Winner in Perth of the Women’s Tour of Scotland 2019 talks to the media.

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

 

Image ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

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

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Women’s Tour of Scotland Stage 1 from Dundee to Dunfermline

by | Aug 9, 2019

Friday 9 August, Dunfermline – Stage 1 of the Women’s Tour of Scotland was abandoned with 40km to go due to adverse weather conditions.

The riders had completed 63km of the first stage of the inaugural race, including two sprints and one climb, before race organisers made the decision to abandon the stage at the feed zone in Leslie due to large sections of standing water on the roads.

Despite the stage being cut short, the Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains and Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints classification leaders were still awarded, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) and Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana) taking the respective jerseys.

“Due to extreme weather conditions, we have taken the unfortunate decision together with Police Scotland and other relevant authorities to abandon today’s stage of the Women’s Tour of Scotland.

“Conditions have proven impossible due to heavy sections of standing water on the roads. Rider safety is paramount and conditions were no longer safe to continue. 

“The winners of today’s Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains and Motorola Solutions Sprints classifications were presented in Dunfermline, however the rest of the teams have returned to their accommodation. 

“We still plan to commence the start of Stage 2 in Glasgow tomorrow.”

Spokesperson

Women’s Tour of Scotland

The 88 riders starting today’s race lined up for a minute’s silence for Lotto Soudal’s Bjorg Lambrecht – the Belgian cyclist who died following his crash at the Tour de France – before rolling out from Dundee’s Slessor Gardens for the first stretch of the inaugural race.

45 Thi That Nguyen (Lotto Soudal Ladies) of Vietnam withdrew before the race start.

With the Stage 1 route seeing plenty of heavy rain prior to the start, the riders set off at an expected gentle pace, sticking together for the first 30km with Rally UHC and Lotto-Soudal controlling the peloton from the front.

As the peloton approached the first sprint, some riders made an early statement for the Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints jersey in front of the Cupar high street crowds.

It was the first climb of the stage that caused the first split with 35 riders going clear, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) taking the eight points in the Queen of the Mountains jersey competition.

By the time the riders reached the summit, the peloton had come back together to race in what proved to be the final sprint of the route before the stage was abandoned.

 

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig – Stg1 QoM – Women’s Tour of Scotland by Cycling Shorts

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig takes control of the Stage 1 Queen of the Mountains Jersey in the Women’s Tour of Scotland 2019. The Bigla rider talks to the media after her triumph. All content ©www.CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

Stage 1 Results

20km Cupar sprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):

1. (5pts) 12 Marjolein Van’t Geloof (Ale Cipollini)

2. (3pts) 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

3. (2pts) 41 Dani Christmas (Lotto-Soudal)

4. (1pts) 31 Abby-Mae Parkinson (Drops)

45km Grange of Lindores climb (Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey competition):

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

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

3. (4pts) 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

54.9km Falkland sprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):

1. (5pts) 91 Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana)

2. (3pts) 25 Mikayla Harvey (Bigla)

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

4. (1pts) 31 26 Leah Thomas (Bigla)

“It’s such a pity that the race had to be abandoned, but safety must always come first. 

“We were really excited about the second climb and finishing the stage in front of the crowds in Dunfermline. We worked really well as a team today and I think we would have had a great finish. That makes me proud and keeps me excited for tomorrow. 

“There’s still two more days to go so we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Queen of the Mountains Jersey holder after Stage 1, Team Bigla

“We were all excited for the beautiful finish in the city of Dunfermline but it was a good decision to abandon the race.

“There was so much water on the road so we have to put our safety first. I usually enjoy racing in the wet and cold weather but today was just too much.

“We wanted to fight for more as a team, but despite how things turned out, I am still happy to come away with the sprint jersey.”

Eugenia Bajuk

Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey after Stage 1, BTC City Ljubljana

All images ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

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 WRT, Team Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

Women’s Cycling – an update for 2019

by | Jul 2, 2019

With the UCI announcing the WorldTour calendars for 2020 and that women’s teams will enjoy minimum provisions with effect from next year, including minimum salaries and entitlements for riders, there is a feeling that cycling is moving towards parity for men and women. But is that achievable or is it just a pipe dream for the female riders in the UK? 

Over the past few years, there has been a move to make the women’s racing equal to the men’s, with race distances being made longer as a consequence. In the UK, there has been a push to increase race distances for women, especially at a National Road Series level, with most races now over 100km, whereas perhaps five years ago, there were hardly any races that were over 50 miles (80km) in length. Whilst this can be called progress, we are moving towards a professional level of dedication, something for which perhaps the women’s sport is not yet ready. For example, there are not many teams that are able to pay riders’ expenses, let alone a wage, and this then means that many riders are effectively priced out of the market, especially when most national level events start at 9am, therefore meaning that an overnight stay is required, at a minimum. It should therefore come as no surprise if organisers are struggling to fill fields, as it becomes more and more costly to race at a national level without any significant financial support (whether that is from a sponsor or a family member). Is this sustainable, or do we need to find a –

And then we have the talent pipeline issue – we struggle to retain female riders after the age of 16, when riders make the transition from Youth to Junior, so it was hoped that the introduction of a Junior Women’s National Road Series would help bridge the massive gap from Youth to Senior. Unfortunately, probably to some degree as a consequence of coinciding with a major staff restructure at British Cycling, the Junior Women’s Series has not had the support from British Cycling that those involved at a grassroots’ level may have hoped to see, with organisers being given no guidance or support and races not being tied into the Series on the British Cycling website, therefore making it more difficult to find out what races were part of the Series. Those of us who are supposed to be in the know weren’t even told, so how riders are supposed to navigate the system to find the races does bring into question whether there really is a desire to see a push towards equality from a road racing perspective at British Cycling. We need British Cycling to be fully on board with the Junior Women’s Series and make sure that it is properly advertised, with organisers being given support and encouragement to promote these events if it is to be successful.

Next issue to be addressed is the shift in attitude with regards to risk assessment interpretation. Those of us who promote events for women are all too aware of the financial implications of promoting a women’s race – it is extremely difficult for an event to break even without a men’s race being organised in conjunction with the women’s race. At a regional level, when we first started promoting road races for women in 2013/14, the most viable way to do it was in conjunction with an existing men’s race, using the infrastructure which was already in place to add on a women’s race, usually starting a few minutes behind the men. This meant that we could ensure opportunities were being made available for women, without having to worry about the numbers. Unfortunately, a change in policy has meant that concurrent racing (where you have two events running alongside each other at the same time) is no longer deemed to be acceptable from a risk perspective and therefore the number of opportunities women will have to road race going forward will likely be substantially less, as organisers will opt –

 for men’s races that are easier to fill, rather than a potentially financially unviable women’s race. The risk assessment process is something which needs to be challenged – the outcome of this change in interpretation has effectively put a protected group (women) in a worse position and it is therefore paramount that a solution is found if British Cycling want to avoid a contravention of their own Equality Policy.

So what does all of this mean for women’s cycling? Well, whilst it’s great that the UCI have implemented a minimum salary requirement for Women’s WorldTour teams, it seems increasingly unlikely that there will be an increase in British riders gaining places on these teams if there is only limited financial support for those racing at a domestic level. Yes, it’s great that we have professional level National Series events but if nobody can afford to attend the races or organisers feel that the financial uncertainty is just too much, then the likelihood is that future cycling stars will not come from the UK, unless as a sport we can look at how events are run and redesign it to encourage as many people as possible to take part.

There are changes afoot at British Cycling, and a willingness to accept that what has come before has not necessarily been acceptable, but whether it will be too little too late remains to be seen. Let’s hope that we can find some solutions before it is too late.

All images © www.chrismaher.co.uk | CyclingShorts.cc

Heather Bamforth

Heather Bamforth

CyclingShorts.cc Sub-Editor

Heather has been with CyclingShorts.cc for 10 years attending and reporting on major cycling events; Tour de France, Tour de Yorkshire, World Track Championships, World Road Race Championships to name a few.

Influencer, Trustee & Founder of The Racing Chance Foundation Charity, Member of the British Cycling Road Commission, BC Regional board member and National Councillor

Heather is a highly respected member of the British Cycling community, she founded the Racing Chance Foundation, a cycling charity to help women gain experience in cycle racing and progress their cycling careers.

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Lizzie Deignan wins 2019 OVO Energy Women’s Tour

by | Jun 15, 2019

Great Britain’s Lizzie Deignan became the first rider to win two OVO Energy Women’s Tour titles as she sealed the 2019 crown at Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire, on Saturday.

The Trek Segafredo rider, who only returned to racing in late April following maternity leave, finished eighth in a reduced bunch sprint to pip Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) to the overall crown by two seconds – the smallest winning margin in race history.

Dutch rider Amy Pieters (Boels Dolmans) claimed the final stage, beating Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb) and Roxane Fournier (Movistar Team) to the line. Pieters placed third overall, 23 seconds behind Deignan, while her team-mate Christine Majerus finished fifth to cap a successful week for the Dutch team.

Interview – Lizzie Deignan 2019 OVO Women’s Tour Winner by Cycling Shorts

Lizzie Deignan talks after winning the 2019 OVO Energy Women’s Tour. ©All content CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

 

 

“It means a huge amount. I think the last time I came here I was probably one of the favourites to win the race – this time I wasn’t a favourite, so it was a different experience. It was totally a team experience.

“I won through just grit and determination. I’m away from my daughter for a reason. I’m here to do a job and I’ve got a fantastic team around me. I don’t want to let them down.

“It’s a huge honour. I’m just delighted, lost for words really. The perspective you gain from having a year out of the sport is amazing. My attitude is just about enjoying it, I’ve never had that attitude before and it’s really paying dividends. I’m in the best team in the world I feel like from a support perspective and just the women around me just lift me up.”

Lizzie Deignan

2019 OVO Energy Women's Tour Winner, Team Trek Segafredo

Deignan crossed the line in eighth position in the 33-rider front group to take victory, having doubled her overnight one-second lead thanks to a mid-race time bonus from the Eisberg Sprint at Penygroes.  As well as the OVO Energy Green jersey the Trek Segafredo rider takes the Breast Cancer Care Points jersey through her consistent finishing across the six stages, and the HSBC UK British Cycling Best British Rider jersey.

The stage win for Pieters was her third in OVO Energy Women’s Tour history, being added to previous victories in Stratford-upon-Avon (2016) and Stoke-on-Trent (2017).  With Majerus and double stage victor Jolien D’hoore providing the perfect lead-out, the Dutchwoman was delighted with the win.

“The plan was to try to win the stage,” said Pieters. “I think we had a good plan and a good week with the whole team, so I think we need to be happy with this.

“The girls did a really strong lead-out for me and I’m happy that I could finish it off. I felt really good today and I’m happy with that because it was a really hard week and I’m happy that the last day I was still good.”

Amy Pieters

Stage 6 Winner, Boels Dolmans

Defending OVO Energy Women’s Tour champion Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb) took the Eisberg Sprints jersey for a second year, getting into a group of 11 riders that broke away early on the Carmarthenshire route to seal the jersey at the first intermediate Eisberg sprint.

The final classification jersey went to Warwickshire summit finish winner Niewiadoma, who withstood the challenge of Majerus for a one-point advantage in the SKODA Queen of the Mountains jersey, while the aggressive riding of Sarah Roy (Mitchelton Scott) was rewarded with the Wahooligan Combativity Award.

Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, Carmarthenshire County Council Executive Board Member for Culture Sport and Tourism, said: “The OVO Energy Women’s Tour has been a resounding success, and has been the perfect showcase of our best landscape and cycling facilities.

“As a local authority, we are proud of our significant investment in facilities and infrastructure to support the growing cycling enthusiasm that we’re working so hard to build. Today’s race started at the historic Carmarthen Velodrome, the oldest in the world, and ended at our purpose-built National Closed Road Circuit at Pembrey Country Park.

“We are particularly proud of Manon Lloyd [Drops], who is from Carmarthenshire and who started her cycling career with Towy Riders in Carmarthen. It must have been a fantastic feeling for her to compete with the best in the world on home soil and I hope she felt the strength of the crowd behind her.”

Once more the OVO Energy Women’s Tour will offer prize money parity with the men’s Tour of Britain, thanks to award winning independent energy supplier OVO Energy, the title sponsors for a third edition of the race.

Highlights of Stage Six will be shown on ITV4 at 20:00 on Saturday15 June with a repeat at 06:10 on Sunday 16 June on the same channel.  Programmes will be available on demand via the ITV Hub catch up service and via Eurosport in the UK and around the world.

Stage 6 - overall Tour Results

All images ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

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 WRT, Team Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

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