PRESS RELEASE
SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER 2021
DEMI VOLLERING WINS THE AJ BELL WOMEN’S TOUR IN FELIXSTOWE
Demi Vollering (SD Worx) clinched overall victory in the AJ Bell Women’s Tour, Britain’s biggest professional women’s race, as World road race champion Elisa Balsamo (Valcar – Travel & Service) clinched the final stage – her first in the rainbow jersey.
Images by Chris Maher. Updated daily throughout the race
Balsamo headed home Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) and Chloe Hosking (Trek-Segafredo) in front of packed crowds along Felixstowe’s seafront basking in the October sunshine, for the win in her final race of 2021.
“To win in this jersey is amazing – it was the perfect day,” said Balsamo. “My team did a really great lead-out for me.”
“We knew we were strong in the sprints but today was perfect. It’s wonderful. This was my first time at this race but I will definitely come here again!”
Vollering finished safely within the main field to celebrate the overall victory by one minute two seconds over Juliette Labous (Team DSM), with Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) a further three seconds in arrears.
The win is Vollering’s first UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race victory and comes in a season where she has also won the prestigious single day races Liege-Bastogne-Liege and La Course.
“It feels great. It’s really nice to win a stage race for the first time,” said Vollering. “I made a big gap in the time trial and then the last three days were flat so we tried to sprint for Amy [Pieters] and then we only needed to control it. It was a good week and really nice with a lot of people next to the road. It is always nice to see so many people into women’s cycling.”
The day was marked by a five-rider escape started by Eugenia Bujak (Alé BTC Ljubljana), containing Ana Santesteban (Team BikeExchange), Dani Christmas (Drops Le Col s/b TEMPUR), Sofia Bertizzolo (Liv Racing), and Veronica Ewers (Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank). The quintet built a lead of just over three minutes, making Santesteban the virtual leader on the road, but a combination of Vollering’s SD Worx’s squad and the other teams working towards the sprint pulled things back to set up the fast finish in Felixstowe.
Once again the Valcar – Travel & Service team performed an excellent lead-out after having gone close in previous days, but this time the World Champion was able to cap the team performance and round out the AJ Bell Women’s Tour with a win.
Behind Wiebes took second to secure the Sigma Sports Points jersey thanks to her brace of stage wins, with Hosking taking another top three position.
Elise Chabbey (Canyon SRAM Racing) won the ŠKODA Queen of the Mountains jersey for the best climber in the race while having taken the Eisberg Sprints jersey on day one in Oxfordshire, Nina Kessler (Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank) held on to the red jersey.
Alice Barnes (Canyon SRAM Racing) was the top British rider in seventh overall and one of three Brits in the top 10 with Pfieffer Georgi (Team DSM) in eighth, and Joss Lowden (Drops Le Col s/b Tempur) in tenth. There was further success for British riders with Hayley Simmonds (CAMS Basso) taking the Combativity Award after her tenacious stage five ride, while SD Worx clinched the team classification.
The next edition of the AJ Bell Women’s Tour takes place between Monday 6 and Saturday 11 June 2022.
The AJ Bell Women’s Tour is sponsored by AJ Bell, one of the UK’s leading online investment platforms, helping people invest for the long term via ISAs, pensions and general investment accounts. It has a rich history of supporting elite level sport including badminton, cricket, rugby, squash and triathlon, and recently sponsored the men’s AJ Bell Tour of Britain in September, won by Wout van Aert.
About the 2021 AJ Bell Women’s Tour
| Stage One | Monday 4 October | Bicester to Banbury | 147.6km |
| Stage Two | Tuesday 5 October | Walsall to Walsall | 103km |
| Stage Three | Wednesday 6 October | Atherstone individual time trial | 16.6km |
| Stage Four | Thursday 7 October | Shoeburyness to Southend-on-Sea | 117.5km |
| Stage Five | Friday 8 October | Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea | 95.3km |
| Stage Six | Saturday 9 October | Haverhill to Felixstowe | 155km |
Stage 6 Top 40
1 131 BALSAMO Elisa VAL ITA B:10″ 00″
2 151 WIEBES Lorena DSM NED B:09″ ‘ ‘
3 3 HOSKING Chloe TFS AUS B:04″ ‘ ‘
4 121 GUTIERREZ RUIZ Sheyla MOV ESP ‘ ‘
5 75 VAN DER HULST Amber PHV NED ‘ ‘
6 62 COPPONI Clara FDJ FRA B:01″ ‘ ‘
7 116 VAN ‘T GELOOF Maria ApolonDiRaP NED ‘ ‘
8 141 ROY Sarah BEX AUS ‘ ‘
9 31 BASTIANELLI Marta ALE ITA ‘ ‘
10 12 *BARNES Alice CSR GBR ‘ ‘
11 41 *NELSON Josie HPU GBR ‘ ‘
12 21 PIETERS Amy SDW NED B:02″ ‘ ‘
13 14 CHABBEY Elise CSR SUI 03″
14 155 LABOUS Juliette DSM FRA ‘ ‘
15 152 *GEORGI Pfeiffer DSM GBR ‘ ‘
16 154 KIRCHMANN Leah DSM CAN ‘ ‘
17 132 CONSONNI Chiara VAL ITA ‘ ‘
18 122 BIANNIC Aude MOV FRA ‘ ‘
19 33 BOOGAARD Maaike ALE NED ‘ ‘
20 24 MAJERUS Christine SDW LUX ‘ ‘
21 125 OYARBIDE JIMENEZ LourdesMOV ESP ‘ ‘
22 92 BERTIZZOLO Sofia LIV ITA B:02″ 10″
23 26 VOLLERING Demi SDW NED ‘ ‘
24 111 *LOWDEN Joscelin DRP GBR ‘ ‘
25 136 VIGIE Margaux VAL FRA 11″
26 25 *SHACKLEY Anna SDW GBR ‘ ‘
27 105 KESSLER Nina TIB NED ‘ ‘
28 106 *SMITH Abi TIB GBR ‘ ‘
29 73 LIMPENS Pien PHV NED ‘ ‘
30 84 *GRINCZER Natalie CAT GBR ‘ ‘
31 114 *TACEY April DRP GBR ‘ ‘
32 23 CECCHINI Elena SDW ITA ‘ ‘
33 96 PALADIN Soraya LIV ITA ‘ ‘
34 22 BLAAK Chantal SDW NED ‘ ‘
35 71 BREDEWOLD Mischa PHV NED ‘ ‘
36 32 BUJAK Eugenia ALE SLO B:03″ ‘ ‘
37 36 *WRIGHT Sophie ALE GBR ‘ ‘
38 81 *SIMMONDS Hayley CAT GBR ‘ ‘
39 124 ERIC Jelena MOV SRB ‘ ‘
40 101 STEPHENS Lauren TIB USA ‘ ‘
General Classification after Stage 6 Haverhill to Felixstowe
1 26 VOLLERING Demi SDW NED 15h54’38” 00″
2 155 LABOUS Juliette DSM FRA 15h55’40” 01’02”
3 62 COPPONI Clara FDJ FRA 15h55’43” 01’05”
4 21 PIETERS Amy SDW NED 15h55’45” 01’07”
5 122 BIANNIC Aude MOV FRA 15h56’04” 01’26”
6 154 KIRCHMANN Leah DSM CAN 15h56’17” 01’39”
7 12 *BARNES Alice CSR GBR 15h56’19” 01’41”
8 152 *GEORGI Pfeiffer DSM GBR 15h56’24” 01’46”
9 14 CHABBEY Elise CSR SUI 15h56’25” 01’47”
10 111 *LOWDEN Joscelin DRP GBR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
11 22 BLAAK Chantal SDW NED 15h56’31” 01’53”
12 121 GUTIERREZ RUIZ Sheyla MOV ESP 15h56’33” 01’55”
13 25 *SHACKLEY Anna SDW GBR 15h56’47” 02’09”
14 24 MAJERUS Christine SDW LUX 15h56’48” 02’10”
15 141 ROY Sarah BEX AUS 15h56’54” 02’16”
16 106 *SMITH Abi TIB GBR 15h57’10” 02’32”
17 131 BALSAMO Elisa VAL ITA 15h57’16” 02’38”
18 31 BASTIANELLI Marta ALE ITA 15h57’21” 02’43”
19 33 BOOGAARD Maaike ALE NED 15h57’24” 02’46”
20 101 STEPHENS Lauren TIB USA 15h57’27” 02’49”
21 81 *SIMMONDS Hayley CAT GBR 15h57’28” 02’50”
22 125 OYARBIDE JIMENEZ LourdMeOsV ESP 15h57’32” 02’54”
23 23 CECCHINI Elena SDW ITA 15h57’37” 02’59”
24 71 BREDEWOLD Mischa PHV NED 15h57’39” 03’01”
25 32 BUJAK Eugenia ALE SLO 15h57’45” 03’07”
26 132 CONSONNI Chiara VAL ITA 15h57’58” 03’20”
27 3 HOSKING Chloe TFS AUS 15h58’00” 03’22”
28 92 BERTIZZOLO Sofia LIV ITA 15h58’04” 03’26”
29 145 SANTESTEBAN GONZALEBZ EAXne ESP 15h58’06” 03’28”
30 96 PALADIN Soraya LIV ITA 15h58’09” 03’31”
31 84 *GRINCZER Natalie CAT GBR 15h58’12” 03’34”
32 73 LIMPENS Pien PHV NED 15h58’24” 03’46”
33 41 *NELSON Josie HPU GBR 15h58’26” 03’48”
34 103 EWERS Veronica TIB USA 15h58’40” 04’02”
35 105 KESSLER Nina TIB NED ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
36 66 WIEL Jade FDJ FRA 15h58’42” 04’04”
37 124 ERIC Jelena MOV SRB 15h58’59” 04’21”
38 75 VAN DER HULST Amber PHV NED 15h59’20” 04’42”
39 15 HARRIS Ella CSR NZL 15h59’41” 05’03”
40 156 LIPPERT Liane DSM GER 15h59’48” 05’10”
41 64 GUILMAN Victorie FDJ FRA 15h59’49” 05’11”
42 133 SANGUINETI Ilaria VAL ITA 15h59’50” 05’12”
43 144 ENSING Janneke BEX NED 16h00’03” 05’25”
44 13 *BARNES Hannah CSR GBR 16h00’18” 05’40”
45 36 *WRIGHT Sophie ALE GBR 16h00’35” 05’57”
46 104 FRAIN Nicole TIB AUS 16h00’40” 06’02”
47 114 *TACEY April DRP GBR 16h01’40” 07’02”
48 1 *DEIGNAN Elizabeth TFS GBR 16h02’09” 07’31”
49 151 WIEBES Lorena DSM NED 16h02’23” 07’45”
50 112 *CHRISTIAN Anna DRP GBR 16h02’35” 07’57”
51 72 GERRITSE Femke PHV NED 16h03’11” 08’33”
52 54 *LETHBRIDGE Alice AWO GBR 16h03’21” 08’43”
53 136 VIGIE Margaux VAL FRA 16h03’30” 08’52”
54 86 *STORRIE Becky CAT GBR 16h04’39” 10’01”
55 116 VAN ‘T GELOOF Maria ApoDloRnPia NED 16h05’03” 10’25”
56 134 PIRRONE Elena VAL ITA 16h05’27” 10’49”
57 53 *HAYES Connie AWO GBR 16h05’58” 11’20”
58 2 CORDON RAGOT Audrey TFS FRA 16h06’14” 11’36”
59 123 GONZALEZ BLANCO AliciaMOV ESP 16h06’16” 11’38”
60 46 MOHR Mari Hole HPU NOR 16h06’33” 11’55”
61 113 *CHRISTMAS Danielle DRP GBR 16h08’02” 13’24”
62 142 CAMPBELL Teniel BEX TTO 16h08’35” 13’57”
63 126 RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ GloMrOiaV ESP 16h10’06” 15’28”
64 6 WORRACK Trixi TFS GER 16h10’11” 15’33”
65 115 *TOWERS Alice DRP GBR 16h14’19” 19’41”
66 82 EDWARDS Emma CAT USA 16h14’45” 20’07”
67 63 GROSSETETE Maelle FDJ FRA 16h15’23” 20’45”
68 43 FELDMANN Pernille LarsenHPU NOR 16h16’36” 21’58”
69 76 VAN HAAFTEN Kirstie PHV NED 16h21’19” 26’41”
70 85 *SCOTT Katie CAT GBR 16h26’45” 32’07”
71 83 *FINNEY Jessica CAT GBR 16h32’04” 37’26”
72 143 ALLEN Jessica BEX AUS 16h36’18” 41’40”
73 55 *MARTIN Phoebe AWO GBR 16h38’17” 43’39”
Roll of Hour after Stage 6 of the AJ Bell Women’s Tour 2021
ROLL OF HONOUR 6th STAGE HAVERHILL TO FELIXSTOWE
FIRST DEMI VOLLERING
SECOND JULIETTE LABOUS
THIRD CLARA CAPPONI
155.300 km STAGE WINNER 131 BALSAMO Elisa ITA Valcar – Travel & Service
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 26 VOLLERING Demi NED Team SD Worx
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 151 WIEBES Lorena NED Team DSM
QOM CLASSIFICATION 14 CHABBEY Elise SUI Canyon SRAM Racing
TEAM CLASSIFICATION SDW Team SD Worx
SPRINTS CLASSIFICATION 105 KESSLER Nina NED Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank
BEST BRITISH 12 BARNES Alice GBR Canyon SRAM Racing
COMBATIVITY 81 SIMMONDS Hayley GBR CAMS – Basso
