Mara Roldan (Team Picnic PostNL) secured her first UCI Women’s WorldTour victory in emphatic fashion at the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women after conquering the iconic Saltburn Bank in a solo attack.
Stage One runner up, Olympic and USA national champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education - Oatly), finished in the lead chasing group and now tops the General Classification table, four seconds ahead of Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek). Faulkner topples stages one winner Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar, who was dropped from the peloton on the first finishing circuit.
A rainy scene greeted the riders at the start of the second stage outside the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool, ready for a 114.3km test to Saltburn, where a tough final circuit would see the peloton take on Saltburn Bank twice, including within the final kilometre.
The difficult conditions saw race leader Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) involved in an early crash, but the Mauritian national champion was quickly back on her bike without any major issues. Soon afterwards, Tiffany Keep (DAS - Hutchinson) launched an attack, joined by Madelaine Leech (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) and Lucy Gadd (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) to form the all-British breakaway of the day.
Up the hill through Redmarshall, with approximately 90km to go, the breakaway had already opened up a lead of over 90 seconds, as the trio powered away from the peloton. At its peak, the gap widened to three minutes with just 10km from the first sprint, but the chasing pack picked up the pace.
Gadd hit the front with 1km to the intermediate sprint but Keep timed her attack to perfection and eased to the ten bonus points with Gadd settling for second. Leech struggled to stay in touch with the pair after the sprint concluded and was caught by the peloton with just over 35km to go.
As the leaders approached the first Queen of the Mountain climb, the gap to the peloton had come down to just over a minute. Keep rode away to take maximum points while Gadd was caught by the chasing pack before the summit and Anouska Koster (Uno-X Mobility) took second. With less than 30km to the finish, the race came back together as Keep was swallowed up by the peloton.
As a number of riders from Lidl - Trek hit the front and tried to draw the peloton out with an injection of pace, several riders including GBCT’s Anna Morris and European Champion and pre-race favourite Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime), hit the deck. As several riders were held up by the crash, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) took the opportunity to launch an attack before being caught moments later.
As they hit Saltburn Bank, the peloton had several fractures as they powered into the second intermediate sprint. Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) was on the wheel of Kristen Faulkner who was vying for the bonus points alongside Henderson. As they came across the finish line on the first lap, the race leader Kim Le Court was nearly a minute behind the front group, as Faulkner took maximum points ahead of Ferguson, Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), Henderson and Mara Roldan (Team Picnic PostNL).
With 15km to go and the second Queen of the Mountain nearing an end, Team Picnic PostNL riders were in a great position and it was the Canadian Roldan who took the 10 points. With Faulkner taking eight points, she tops the Queen of the Mountain leaderboard at the end of Stage Two. 21-year-old Roldan kept going and opened up a gap to the first chase group. Former Dutch champion Riejanne Markus counter-attacked and closed the gap, but Roldan reached the final ascent of Saltburn Bank alone and grinded up the steep ascent to claim her maiden WorldTour victory, with Markus 12 seconds behind.
Ally Wollaston (FDJ - Suez) led home the chasing bunch 18 seconds back, with Faulkner finishing in this group to ensure she will be not only be the new leader of the race, but also the leader of the Points and Queen of the Mountains competitions. Cat Ferguson retains her white jersey as best young rider while moving up to fourth in the General Classification.
Speaking after her win, Mara Roldan said: “It’s my first WorldTour win so that’s a really special feeling. It’s a little bit surreal, I didn’t know I had the win in me, but I was hopeful and I was going to give it everything no matter what.
“We definitely had a plan and I’m very happy it paid off. It was amazing work from the team to set me up for the final climb.”
Cat Ferguson, said; “The stage went very similar to yesterday, the sprint being similar too. I’d still like to win a race in Britain, it’s a big goal of mine.
“I’m really happy with where I am, if you told me I was fourth on GC after stage two I’d be so happy, but I’m still hunting for the podium and a stage.”
As well as the glory of the victory, stage winner Mara Roldan also received a one nights stay at The Spa Hotel Saltburn, courtesy of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, so that they can return to enjoy the Tees Valley at their leisure.
All of the riders on the podium in Saltburn-by-the-Sea also received a framed artwork of Saltburn Bank from the Tees Valley Combined Authority, as a memento of their stage.
UK viewers can watch a full replay for stage two here.
Full stage results and standings can be found here.
A full photography album from stage two can be found here.
Stage three sees the first ever Scottish stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, as the Scottish Borders hosts a leg of the race starting and finishing from the picturesque market town of Kelso. The 143.8-kilometre stage features a succession of climbs in and around the Eildon Hills, getting underway at 11:00 with an expected finish on the cobbles of The Square in Kelso at around 15:00.
Fans can follow live coverage via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app, or via the Lloyds Tour of Britain YouTube channel here.
The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women concludes in Glasgow on Sunday 8 June, with a final stage circuit race and accompanying free Lloyds Tour of Britain Family Cycling Festival, which will provide a unique chance to ride on the same closed road, traffic free, circuit as the world’s best. For more information on the Lloyds Tour of Britain Family Cycling Festival, please click here.
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