Final Report from the 2015 Aviva Womens Tour

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

Lisa Brennauer clinched the overall victory in the Aviva Women’s Tour, surviving an attacking final day of racing through the Chiltern Hills from Marlow to Hemel Hempstead, won by Hannah Barnes.

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling rider sprinted to victory in the Premier Inn Best British Rider Jersey as the peloton once again caught the day’s break of Claudia Lichtenberg and Audrey Cordon inside the final kilometre.

The duo were finally reeled in by a fast charging peloton on the arrow straight final 500-metres, setting up an exciting finish with Barnes coming through to claim her biggest victory to date, along with both the Premier Inn Best British Rider and SweetSpot Best Young Rider prizes by virtue of her fifth overall.

Behind Barnes Stage Two winner Jolien D’hoore took second with Simona Frapporti third, while General Classification Contenders Brennauer, Majerus and Johansson took fourth, fifth and seventh respectively.

The World Time Trial Champion’s consistent finishing of top six places on all five stages earned her the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey to pair with her Aviva Yellow Jersey, finishing with a six second advantage over D’hoore with Majerus a further second back.

Interview – Lisa Brennauer 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour Winner by Cycling Shorts

Lisa Brennauer of Team Velocio SRAM talks after her dominant performance and taking the overall win in GC in the 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour. A well deserved Yellow jersey win!

“This Tour is one of the biggest events on the women’s calendar, so this victory means a lot to me. It was a great victory for me, but also for the whole team – big thanks to all my team mates,” said the Velocio SRAM rider afterwards

“I have to thank my team mates, it wasn’t easy today – a tough stage with all the hills and a lot of hard attacks.

“I worked hard yesterday to get the jersey back. I missed some of the intermediate sprints. I wanted to get to the point where I could give back to my team-mates for all their hard work.”

Having started amidst the biggest crowds of the week in Marlow in Buckinghamshire, riders headed into the Chiltern Hills for a stage of attacking racing. A lead group of four riders, including eventual YodelDirect Combativity Winner Gracie Elvin, formed early on but were caught by the top of the first Strava Queen of the Mountains climb of Cryers Hill as the General Classification contenders fought for bonus seconds at the first Chain Reaction Cycles Sprint at Prestwood, which came almost immediately afterwards.

Lichtenberg then attacked on one of the day’s, many, unclassified climbs with many riders trying to cross to her, but Wiggle Honda’s Cordon was the only one to make the junction with thirteen kilometres remaining.

Yet again though in the Aviva Women’s Tour the escape would not prevail, setting up Barnes for a highly popular win in Hemel Hempstead

Hannah Barnes Stage 5 Winner – Women’s Tour 2015 by Cycling Shorts

Hannah Barnes of Team UnitedHealthcare talks to the media after taking the U23 and Best British Rider Jerseys in the 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour and topping it all off with the final stage win!

“This was the biggest aim of the year, so I’m happy to have pulled it off.

“I knew it would be hard in the Chilterns and what to expect. The sprint was crazy, very difficult. I got boxed at 100m to go but thankfully got free. The team are normally used to the American peloton & wide roads,” continued Barnes, before praising teammate Alexis Ryan for protecting her in “the Alexis bubble”.

With breakaway riders sweeping up the big points at both Strava Queen of the Mountains climbs Orica AIS rider Melissa Hoskins extended her lead by a point to keep hold of the orange polka dot jersey ahead of Elise Delzenne.

The Boels Dolmans team added the Aviva Team Classification to their two stage wins with Elisa Longo Borghini claimed the Overall YodelDirect Combativity Award having been at the front of the action on several stages.

An excellent Women’s Tour bring on 2016!

Highlights of Stage Five will be shown by ITV4 at 8pm on Sunday 21 June with a repeat at 11.15am on Monday 22 June and available on demand via the ITV Player for 30-days after broadcast.

Stage 5 Resultsstage 5

Final GC Podium for the 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour

Overall GC WT2015

U23: Hannah Barnes

Best British: Hannah Barnes

Points: Lisa Brennauer

Queen of the Mountains: Melissa Hoskins

Team: Boels Dolmans Cycling Team

For full results and final overall standings please click here.

Aviva Women’s Tour Stage Four Report

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

 

Lisa Brennauer sprinted back into the Aviva Yellow Jersey at the end of Stage Four of the Aviva Women’s Tour in Stevenage, as the peloton swept up a two-rider breakaway inside the final kilometre.

The World Time Trial Champion now holds a nine second lead in the race into tomorrow’ decisive stage between Marlow and Hemel Hempstead, which offers up probably the most demanding terrain of the week and possibility for breakaway success in what has been a furiously ridden race.

The German rider from the Velocio SRAM team had led the chase into Stevenage of a very high quality break in the last quarter of the race featuring European Under-23 Road Race champion Sabrina Stultiens and the dangerous Italian Elisa Longo Borghini, who won the Ronde Van Vlaanderen World Cup round earlier this year with a spectacular 33km break.

That duo were much too dangerous to allow any significant leeway when they went hard with 25km to go and Brennauer and her team, as well as Boels Dolmans riding for overnight race leader Christine Majerus immediately moved to the front to control matters.

The break’s advantage reached almost one minute with just under 20-kilometres to go, but were steadily pegged back as the peloton rode with controlled pace in wet and slippery conditions.  As they turned to take the flame route at one kilometre to go the game was up and the sprint teams started to organise themselves but Brennauer has shown a rare turn of speed this week and powered through in trademark fashion ahead of Emma Johansson and Finnish National Champion Lotta Lepistö, with the Aviva Yellow Jersey of Majerus in fourth.

Interview – Yellow Jersey – Lisa Brennauer Stage 4 Aviva Women’s Tour by Cycling Shorts

Lisa Brennauer of Team Velocio SRAM talks to the media as she regains the Yellow Jersey in the penultimate stage of the Aviva Women’s Tour 2015.

“When the rain came I knew it would be tricky but I went around the final corners safely and chose a good wheel in Emma Johansson and came off from there,” said Brennauer. “The chase was difficult because of the undulating course and the quality of the riders up the road and I wasn’t quite sure we would see them again before the finish.

“It’s going to be an exciting day and it is so close that there are seconds on the road that everybody will fight for before the final finish but me and my team are going to do our best to bring this jersey home now that we have it back. We raced very well today as a team and that will give us confidence for the final day. Our morale is very good. We have had a rider on the podium of every stage. The spirit is good and that is a very good way to start the final stage.”

Britain’s Hannah Barnes, finishing the Aviva Women’s Tour strongly, rode well for her second consecutive top five place on the day to move up to fifth place overall, taking over from Lucy Garner as both the Premier Inn Best British Rider and SweetSpot Best Young Rider (Under-23).

Hannah Barnes Interview – Stage 4 Aviva Womens Tour 2015 by Cycling Shorts

Hannah Barnes of Team UnitedHealthcare talks post Stage 4 of the Aviva Womens Tour 2015 about her race and about taking the U23 Jersey and the Best British Rider.

“It was a crazy finish, very technical in the last 10km and then it started raining on top of that,” said Barnes. “We drove the last 12km of the finish on the Friday night going to our hotel and you could see difficult it was going to be.

“I knew there would be splits and time gaps at the finish so I tried to stay at the front. It all split on the last KOM and about 30 of us went up the road then the break went. The last 10km were very narrow and two riders were away but with the rain nobody particularly wanted to take up the chase and then it was far from a straight finish.

“I wasn’t really happy with my form when I arrived back from the USA last week, it didn’t feel there, but I do usually go better towards the end of a stage race and that is what has happened this week. For me it’s more about confidence more than anything. If I go into a race confident I will perform and the last three days that confidence has returned and I’ve been pretty consistent.”

Barnes has been largely based in the USA for the first half of the season but after this Aviva Women’s Tour she is planning a big training block in Girona before returning to the States where she is targeting the Tour of Utah and the Tour of Colorado, races in which she hopes to make a strong case for Great Britain selection at the World Championships at Richmond, Virginia in September.

Despite the efforts of Brennauer’s Velocio SRAM teammate Elise Delzenne, Orica AIS rider Melissa Hoskins continues to lead the Strava Queen of the Mountains jersey, but by just two points, and with the GC ambitions of her teammate Johansson the priority.

Melissa Hoskins Interview – Stage 4 Aviva Womens Tour 2015 by Cycling Shorts

Current Queen of the Mountains Jersey Holder Melissa Hoskins of Team Orica AIS talks to the media post stage 4 of the Aviva Women”s Tour 2015.

“I would probably be the last name you would expect to see leading the Queen of the Mountains. It just sort of happened. The first day as a team if you are near the mark when you come to the first QoM you go for it, take the points. You can get in a jersey and that is always great o this kind of tour.

“I ended up taking some points on the first QoM and then on the second day I thought I’d have a crack and see if I can get the jersey which I did. And what started as a bit of a joke and a bit of a play out on the road turned into something a little bit more serious and I started becoming attached to the polka dot!

“Tomorrow’s stage sounds a bit horrific, I’ve got my work cut out, but at the end of the day we are here to help Emma in the GC so my 100% commitment will be towards here. And all this week in between the QoMs my priority has been getting her in to the sprint. We are here for a bigger picture and that is Emma and the yellow jersey.

“The stage is going to blow apart, there is no question about that. There is going to be some big time gaps. Emma’s got the form and there are a few girls behind her looking to get away on a break. It’s going to be a very aggressive race and it will be interesting to see how some of the sprinters handle the hills. Emma is climbing well, she’s always on the mark and there’s no question she can win it.”

Brennauer, who also holds the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey, enjoys a nine-second leader over Majerus, with Stage Two winner Jolien D’hoore just a further second back.  In total all of the top fourteen remain within 30-seconds of the Aviva Yellow Jersey going into the final stage from Marlow to Hemel Hempstead, a 102.6km leg from the banks of the River Thames through the Chiltern Hills.

Stage 4 Results

Stage4

 

 

GC after Stage 4

stage4GC

U23: Hannah Barnes

Best British: Hannah Barnes

Points: Lisa Brennauer

Queen of the Mountains: Melissa Hoskins

Team: Boels Dolmans Cycling Team

 

Highlights of Stage Four are on ITV4 at 8pm on Saturday 20 June with a repeat at 11.10am on Sunday 21 June and will be available on the ITV Player for 30-days after broadcast.

 

Stage 5 – the Aviva Women’s Tour Finale – Sunday 21st June, Marlow to Hemel Hempstead.

AvivaWT_Stage5_Map-1

 

Useful Links…

Twitter www.twitter.com/thewomenstour    Event Hashtag #AvivaWT2015

Facebook www.facebook.com/thewomenstour

Instagram www.instagram.com/thetourcycling

YouTube www.youtube.com/thetourcycling

Aviva Women’s Tour Women’s Tour

For full Stage Four results and standings click here.

 

 

 

Aviva Women’s Tour 2015 – Stage 1

All Image ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc

 

The start of the Aviva Womens Tour 2015 got off to a ‘smashing’ start for Lizzie Armitstead and members of the media, not quite the finish everyone was anticipating.

 

With the profile of the 110km stage it looked like it would end in a bunch sprint but with QoM’s points to contest just before the finish there could be an upset.
Some of the big name riders in the hunt for a win were Bronzini and Armitstead, with their teams Wiggle Honda and Boels Dolman respectively keeping the pace high.

Aviva Women's Tour 2015 | Stage OneKatie Archibald, Pearl Izumi, “I think this race has been designed with the TV in mind with possible bunch sprint finishes. Stage 4 has a really technical finish but we hope to have everyone fighting it out to the end. My role in the team will be to sprint with the other Katie [Curtis], we will be looking for that kick at the end, Sarah Storey and Ciara Horne will be our main climbers.”

Archibald hit the deck approaching the first QoM (Queen of the Mountains) but Joanna Rowsell hung back to help her Pearl Izumi sprinter back into the pack, once she’d been seen by the race doctor. Armitstead looked to control the pace heading towards the QoM with Sharon Laws (last years QoM winner). Susanna Zorzi of Lotto Soudal unfortunately got a flat at the bottom of the climb.
6 pojnts went to Melissa Hoskins of Orica with Anouska Koster hot on her heels for the 5 points.

Lizzie Armitstead, “My form is good, I had a mini season break in May came back with two wins, I won the Tour of Qatar, I’ll take that confidence into the sprints but a much more lumpy race would really suit me.”

Orica AIS rider Emma Johansson, “ I’ve just come out of a tour in Spain that was really successful for me, I came away with 3 wins, I don’t feel like there is any pressure on me, I’m just gonna enjoy every day.”

The first sprint points were contested by a group of four riders but Coryn Rivera (UHC) won the sprint gaining the first 3 points of the tour followed by Marta Tagliaferro (2 points) and Elinor Barker (1 point).

Hannah Barnes UHC, “ I’m mostly looking at stage wins this Tour, last year was good with two top fours, Coryn and I are on form so the team is hoping to have a really good week.”

USA’s Heather Fischer took a nasty fall in the race for the second sprint, Tagliaferro took maximum points followed by Barker and Rivera.

Laura Trott, Matrix Fitness, “It went well at the Tour Series and the Milk Race for me, these stages are a bit longer than an hour race, two of the stages are 140km which isn’t what we train for, as long as I can get to the finish I think I can do ok.”

A five rider breakaway was established as the second QoM loomed ahead, the group consisted of the previous sprint contest riders, they were joined by Katie Archibald, and Coryn Rivera’s UHC team mate Katie Hall who was sitting on the back wheel waiting to pounce. The peloton chase was being led by Wiggle Honda with a 3 minute gap to the leaders at one point. Another gap developed as Katie Archibald struggled with the climb and was distanced from her breakaway companions. The UHC riders took the top two points available as the QoM summit (Katie Hall 6pts and Coryn Rivera 5pts). Archibald was last over the line for the breakaway taking 2 points as she started to slip slowly backwards, eventually when the peloton arrived at the QoM’s Sharon Laws mopped up the remaining point uncontested.

Giorgia Bronzini, Wiggle Honda, “For me and my team this race is a big goal, we are here with good riders and we are prepared for every solution that can be in the race.”

The leading group was down to four riders with 10km’s to go. Orica snd Wiggle had raised the pace on the front of the peloton and the lead groups advantage of 2 minutes 45 was eroded to 55 seconds.

Lisa Brennauer of Velcro SRAM“I think there are more possibilities for a sprinter than just the bunch sprint this tour, I hope it’s going to be exciting and not predictable as to who’s going to win.”

With 5km’s to go the lead group were dangling like a carrot in front of the hungry peloton.

With 2km to go the race became exposed to the crosswinds of the coast with those hiding in the peloton at an advantage.

Aviva Women's Tour 2015 | Stage OneUnder the Flame rouge and the breakaway was hanging in by a thread. They were quickly absorbed into the peloton. The sprinters came to the front and immediately Armitstead, Frapporti, Brennauer and Johansson showed their form. Crossing the line first was Lizzie Armitstead with Lisa Brennauer 2nd, and Emma Johansson 3rd.

The days spills didn’t end there, moments after the win Lizzie appeared to swerve to her left and in doing so hit a number of the press photographers, CyclingShorts.cc Chris Maher was one of them, they fell like a pack of cards. The photographers were in their correct position along with race organisers. Currently nothing is known about why Lizzie lost control of her bike but she went down very hard. She was rushed to hospital with a suspected broken femur, she was released later luckily with nothing more serious than bruises. Lizzie thanked everyone for their concern and also thanked the NHS staff who treated her.

Armitstead has a 4 second lead after stage one with a time of 2h39’43”. We wish Lizzie well and hope she’s able to defend her jersey tomorrow.

Stage One | Bury St Edmonds to Alderburgh

Stage1Results

 

U23 – Coryn Rivera

Best British – Lizzie Armitstead

Points – Lizzie Armitstead

Queen of the Mountains – Katie Hall

Team – UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling

 

Useful Links…

Twitter www.twitter.com/thewomenstour    Event Hashtag #AvivaWT2015

Facebook www.facebook.com/thewomenstour

Instagram www.instagram.com/thetourcycling

YouTube www.youtube.com/thetourcycling

Aviva Women’s Tour Women’s Tour

 

Thursday 18th June 2015 | Stage Two | Braintree to Clacton

AvivaWT_Stage2_Map-1

Words by Anna, Images by Chris Maher

Tour of Britain 2011 – Stage 6 – Taunton to Wells Image Gallery

 

[flagallery gid=4 name=”Gallery”]

 

The Tour of Britain 2011
Stage 6 Summary
Taunton to Wells 16 Sep 2011

** Indicates Under 23 riders
 

Stage

  1. Lars Boom (Rabobank)
  2. Alexandre Pichot (Team Europcar)
  3. Leopold Koenig (Team NetApp)

Overall

  1. Lars Boom (Rabobank)
  2. Leopold Koenig (Team NetApp)
  3. Daniel Lloyd (Team Garmin – Cervelo)

Points

  1. Lars Boom (Rabobank)
  2. Geraint Thomas (Sky ProCycling)
  3. Mark Cavendish (HTC Highroad)

Mountains

  1. Jonathan Tiernan Locke (Rapha Condor – Sharp)
  2. Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport-Specialized)
  3. Stephen Cummings (Sky ProCycling)

Sprints

  1. Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post – Sean Kelly)
  2. Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport-Specialized)
  3. Lars Boom (Rabobank)

 

Written & edited by Anna Magrath. All Images ©Copyright Paul Sloper

 

If you wish to purchase or get permission to use any of the images in this article or gallery please contact Paul through our contacts page.

 
 
 
 

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