LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN 2024
KOPECKY CROWNED OVERALL WINNER OF THE 2024 LLOYDS TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN
Stage 4 Manchester to Leigh 99kms
Press Release 09 June 2024 | Images by Chris Maher
Lotte Kopecky took the overall race victory and Ruby Roseman-Gannon clinched the final stage in a dramatic sprint finish at the 2024 Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women in Leigh.
A flurry of attacks kicked off the racing out of the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, with the UCI Continental teams pushing the pace, before Krista Doebel-Hickok (Human Powered Health) made the first big move of the day. As she started to ascend Grains Bar for the first Queen of the Mountains, the Great Britain Cycling Team and Liv-Alula-Jayco chased hard, catching the lone rider and stringing out the bunch.
As the peloton reached the brow of the hill, Lizzie Deignan (Great Britain Cycling Team) pushed on in the Queen of the Mountains jersey, passing the finish line of the 2.4km climb to take the maximum points before continuing to forge on alone.
Anna Henderson (Great Britain Cycling Team) kept the pace steady in the peloton to allow Deignan to establish a 30 second gap on the descent into Shaw. As she continued to extend her advantage, Deignan provisionally held the GC lead, before SD Worx-Protime started to push on the front of the peloton. A surprise attack from Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL) in the windy and wet moorlands looked like it could be significant, but was quickly foiled as Deignan’s lead extended to a minute.
Hitting the iconic Rake climb in Ramsbottom, Deignan showed her determination, powering up the steep gradients through gritted teeth, while attacks started to come thick and fast from behind. A chasing group including big hitters Letizia Paternoster (Liv-Alula-Jayco), Franziska Koch (Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL), Kool, Henderson, and Kopecky broke away, with Deignan cresting the climb to claim maximum points and secure the overall Queen of the Mountains classification by a good margin.
As Deignan descended, the chasing peloton attacked again, with a group including British champion Pfeiffer Georgi (Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-ProTime) Christine Majerus (SD Worx-ProTime), Henderson, Kopecky, and Paternoster forming at around the halfway mark.
A flurry of counter attacks from both Liv-Alula-Jayco, Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL and SD Worx-ProTime saw Deignan eventually reeled back into the main bunch on the descent into Darwen after a commendable effort which saw her awarded the Combativity award.
With the pressure of the attacks and undulating terrain, the bunch was strung out with pockets of riders over the course. The peloton continued to ebb and flow on the run into the intermediate sprint in Horwich, with Majerus, Wiebes and Paternoster going head-to-head, and a photo finish giving the maximum points to Majerus.
Soon after, British teammates Henderson and Deignan made a surprise attack to break away from the peloton, before Georgi, Kopecky and Paternoster bridged over as Deignan’s earlier efforts saw her drop back to the peloton. It looked like the front group of four would be battling it out for the podium positions, gaining a gap of 40 seconds, but a lack of cohesion and attacks from the peloton saw their move foiled inside the last 15km.
Moves from Paternoster, Wiebes and Koch made for an exciting run into Leigh, with Paternoster’s place on the GC podium scuppered by a puncture inside the last 5km, which saw her dropped from the bunch.
Reaching the final bend into the finish, Kopecky was well ahead, and kept her sprint in check to offer her teammate, Majerus, the win. Disaster struck for SD Worx-ProTime as Roseman-Gannon came storming through and lunged for the line as Majerus sat up to celebrate, gifting the Australian national champion the win. Majerus clung on for second, while Wiebes finished third, and Kopecky took fourth – her place as GC leader well and truly secured.
Kopecky also took the sprinter’s jersey, while Deignan’s fantastic climbing and punchy power saw her take the Queen of the Mountains jersey with ease. Jansen performed well beyond her years to keep the Best Young Rider jersey, while Henderson’s second place finish on the GC saw her crowned Best British rider. SD Worx-ProTime’s strength in depth secured them the overall team classification, while Lifeplus-Wahoo’s determination in the face of adversity saw them awarded the Combativity team award.
Speaking on the final stage, Kopecky said:
“It was really cold and hectic – some nice steep climbs. In the end, we were always in control. We made the choice to go for Christine in the sprint, and we did it perfectly until the last gap around the corner. It was too big for me so I was not going to take the win as I saw Christine going. We made this deal that she is going to win today but maybe it was a stupid mistake. I still, however, would have done the same. It could have been a nice ending for Christine, but we finished well as a team.
“Ruby is a good rider so it was nice for her but I am happy that Christine got the bonus seconds to get third so it is nice. Maybe it is a little funny and it is what it is and I’m not disappointed.”
Stage winner, Roseman-Gannon, said:
“I just can’t believe it – the plan today was to really race aggressively and take some seconds back. We had a really good team ride and they were actually smashing that first climb. I was actually struggling and then there was full commitment into the next climb and some selections made.”
“We really wanted to get Letizia out there, but unfortunately she got a puncture so it didn’t go to plan. I asked whether I should go back, they said no and to focus on the finish. I still can’t believe I have won that – it’s my first European win and I’m still in shock.”
“It’s when you really don’t expect it, some races you come in as a leader and you have a lot of pressure, and other races you come in and it all works out. Today I was pretty worried about the rain and I was nervous about crashing and I wasn’t really in the right mindset that I was going to win the race, but to win is amazing. Overall it was a great race!”
Queen of the Mountains winner, Deignan, said:
“[The solo attack] was kind of by accident to be honest, I was just really going for the points on the mountain and saw a gap and thought well there’s nothing to lose now! I’ve got the jersey secured, I was just trying to put Anna in a good position. It was a nice atmosphere, I heard my name lots of times, lots of Yorkshire flags, and I knew the kids were at the finish line too so it was a lovely day. I think it was a success, obviously we came here trying to win overall, but Anna did a brilliant job on the GC.”
Best British rider, Henderson added:
“It was a good day for the team. We took the Queen of the Mountains with Lizzie, and then finished off with me finishing second in GC. A really nice few days with the girls – the way they protected us really well. The day was special.
“Lizzie did such a good job. She really put SD Worx[ProTime] under pressure, she was really amazing. She kept on attacking to set me up so I got away with the favourites each time but I just couldn’t get away solo to put that gap between me and Lotte, she was just too strong today. She is the champion, shoutout to her for winning.”
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Lloyds Bank, our commercial partners, our local hosts, delivery team and volunteers on the ground, and the thousands who have lined the roadside to cheer on the riders over the past four days.
Stage 4 Results
1 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby Liv AlUla Jayco 02:37:51
2 MAJERUS Christine Team SD Worx-Protime + 00
3 WIEBES Lorena Team SD Worx-Protime + 00
4 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx-Protime + 00
5 JANSEN Eline VolkerWessels Pro Cycling Team + 00
6 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL + 00
7 PERKINS Flora Great Britain + 00
8 BARKER Elinor Great Britain + 00
9 TALBOT Josie Cofidis Women Team + 00
10 HENDERSON Anna Great Britain + 00
General Classification after Stage 4
01 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx-Protime 13:03:40
02 HENDERSON Anna Great Britain + 17
03 MAJERUS Christine Team SD Worx-Protime + 34
04 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL + 38
05 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco + 40
06 JANSEN Eline VolkerWessels Pro Cycling Team + 43
07 DEIGNAN Lizzie Great Britain + 46
08 GUILMAN Victorie St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 + 46
09 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby Liv AlUla Jayco + 02:50
10 WIEBES Lorena Team SD Worx-Protime + 04:14
WEIBES POWERS TO STAGE THREE VICTORY AT 2024 LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN
Stage 3 Warrington 106.8kms
Press Release 08 June 2024 | Images by Chris Maher
Sprinting queen Lorena Weibes powered to a blistering victory in the third stage of the 2024 Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women in Warrington to make it a hat-trick of wins for SD Worx-Protime.
The 106.8km race saw plenty of attacks and breaks throughout the day, but it all came down to a sprint finish with GC leader Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) delivering Weibes to the third stage win ahead of Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL) and Georgia Baker (Liv-Alula-Jayco).
A flurry of attacks kicked off the racing out of Warrington, with Hess Cycling Team and Volkerwessels Women’s Pro-cycling Team controlling much of the race, before an attack from Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis-200 ° Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting) stuck. Maddie Leech (Lifeplus-Wahoo) was straight on her wheel and the pair worked together to build a solid lead.
The British duo boasted a four minute gap on the peloton as Leech took the first Queen of the Mountain points of the day at the 40km mark just ahead of Tindley. Lucy Lee (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) trailed three minutes back as the lone chaser, while Queen of the Mountains jersey wearer Lizzie Deignan (Great Britain Cycling Team) took fourth from the main bunch.
Caitlin Dimbleby (Alba Development Road Team) attacked from the peloton and bridged over to Lee, while up ahead, Leech suffered with a mechanical and struggled to change gear, but still managed to claim top points on the second Queen of the Mountains up Shrigley Road.
On the descent, Leech’s issues on the bike were becoming further apparent, with Tindley starting to forge ahead. Just after riding through Pott Shrigley, Leech had to change her bike, swapping her Ribble for the personal bike of SD Worx-Protime DS Danny Stam.
Leech was caught by Lee and Dimbleby, with the trio working together before getting caught just before the intermediate sprint. Tindley battled on about a minute ahead, while a ferocious sprint from the peloton saw LIV-Alula-Jayco take control, with Letizia Paternoster crossing the line ahead of Ruby Roseman-Gannon.
SD Worx-Protime continued to power on the front, before Valerie Demey (Volkerwessels Women’s Pro-cycling Team) attacked inside the final 15km as the bunch swallowed up Tindley, who took the Combativity award for her efforts. A dropped chain for Demey foiled her chances, and she was quickly reeled back in as SD Worx-Protime, Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL and the Great Britain Cycling Team controlled the pace.
A fantastic lead out from SD Worx-Protime saw Weibes strike at the perfect time to fire to the victory and once again prove herself as the best sprinter in the world. Kool was the only rider to challenge Weibes, holding her wheel, but had to settle for second, while Georgia Baker (Liv-Alula-Jayco) secured third.
After two stage victories and a seventh place finish in Warrington, Kopecky continues to lead the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women GC and the sprinters classification, while Anna Henderson’s (Great Britain Cycling Team) 25th place was enough to retain second on the GC and the Best of British jersey.Deignan retains the Queen of the Mountains jersey as Eline Jansen (Volkerwessels Women’s Pro-cycling Team) also stays top of the Best Young Rider classification.
Speaking on her win, Weibes said:
“The team did a really good job today. Elena [Cecchini] and Chantal [van den Broek-Blaak] were chasing all day so from the team car, the pressure was on. We were a bit in the middle and you all really have to fight for your position near the end. Christine [Majerus] took the last corner first and then quickly after Barb [Guarischi] had to go for Lotte and then I saw only 200 metres to go, so I also start my sprint.
“It’s good to finish it off and the team worked hard for it. In 2022, I also had a successful year in the UK, and I’m not sure why – it’s the roads! We always go for it when we race and we will go for the fourth stage too tomorrow.”
Kopecky added:
“The finish was perfect for Lorena and our team did really well the whole day. It was nice to be there as a team in the lead out and Lorena timed it perfectly. We are 17 seconds ahead on the GC so it’s not possible to lose much now!”
Named the first ever European Capital of Cycling for 2024, Greater Manchester will host the final stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women. The anticlockwise route will cross the Ashton Canal, heading northeast to take in the towns of Shaw and Rochdale and two Queen of the Mountains segments, including the iconic Rake climb in Ramsbottom. A fast, flat run into Leigh will set the stage for what is expected to be a spectacular finish to the race where spectators will witness history in action as the overall race winner will be crowned.
Top Five on Stage 3
1 WIEBES Lorena Team SD Worx – Protime 50 50 10″2:44:42
2 KOOL Charlotte Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 40 30 6″,,
3 BAKER Georgia Liv AlUla Jayco 30 18 4″,,
4 BARBIERI Rachele Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 25 13 ,,
5 PERKINS Flora Great Britain 20 10 ,,
GC after Stage 3
1 1 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx – Protime 8 23″10:25:49
2 2 HENDERSON Anna Great Britain 6″ 0:17
3 3 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco 11″ 0:32
4 4 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 5″ 0:38
5 6 JANSEN Eline VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team 0:43
KOPECKY MAKES IT TWO FROM TWO AT THE 2024 LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN
Stage 2 Wrexham 140.1kms
Press Release 07 June 2024 | Images by Chris Maher
Lotte Kopecky took back-to-back wins at the 2024 Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women, powering to the second stage victory in Wrexham after a breakaway with British rider Anna Henderson.
The world champion from SD Worx-ProTime stormed up the iconic Horseshoe Pass at a blistering pace, breaking away from the peloton with Henderson (Great Britain Cycling Team) hot on her wheel, before beating the Brit in a sprint finish after tackling 140.2km and 1,570m of climbing.
It was a steady start out of Wrexham’s town centre, with the peloton staying together and embracing the crowds, before Franziska Koch (Team dsm-Firmenich Postnl) made the first big move of the day around 30km in.
Reaching the first Queen of the Mountains (QOM) of the day at 88km in, Koch remained unchallenged, and had increased her lead to three minutes and 15 seconds. With a distance of 1.4km and average elevation of 3%, Koch took Eyton Hill in her stride to take maximum QOM points, while a strong sprint behind saw Heidi Franz (Lifeplus-Wahoo) cross the line second and the current jersey holder, Lizzie Deigan (Great Britain Cycling Team) take third.
The peloton slowly started to reel Koch back in, reducing the gap to a minute as the German rider also took the intermediate sprint solo at the 93km mark. A battle for second and third saw Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-Firmenich Postnl) and Kopecky go shoulder to shoulder, with the Dutch rider just edging out ahead of the race leader. Koch was shortly swallowed back up by the peloton, but secured the Combativity award of the day for her efforts.
The race was set alight as the riders battled up the second Queen of the Mountains on Horseshoe Pass, with Kopecky taking the 4.2km climb and 6.4% gradient in her stride. The Belgium rider showed her world champion class, accelerating effortlessly from the front of the peloton to form a gap, with Henderson straight on her wheel. Deignan attacked to take third on the classification and retain her Queen of the Mountains jersey.
Henderson and Kopecky continued to build a considerable lead on the peloton, with the gap growing to 38 seconds coming into the final 10km of the race.
Heading into Wrexham, Henderson tried to mount a last gasp attack on the world champion, but was no match for Kopecky, who stormed to her second win of this year’s Tour of Britain Women and crossed the line with her arms outstretched. The chasing pack crossed the line 20 seconds later with sprint queen Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-ProTime) powering to third.
Kopecky’s win sees the Belgium rider maintain the leader’s jersey and sprinters jersey, while Henderson now sits in the Best of British jersey. Deignan remains top of the Queen of the Mountains category, while Elise Jansen’s 10th place sees her maintain the Young Rider jersey. With two riders on the podium today, SD-Worx ProTime maintain the team classification.
Speaking on her second stage win, Kopecky said:
“It couldn’t have gone better, I am really happy with today’s race. It was nice to get Anna with me in the break today, and I wasn’t prepared to try something after the longer climb. I knew what the finish would look like, and I didn’t panic, and it’s been another really good day for our team.”
Henderson said:
“I am really happy, bittersweet I think. I was super happy to go with Lotte and be on par with her physically up the climb. But being that close to the win, I am disappointed but happy with my second race back after breaking my collarbone.”
On the team’s potential to win an upcoming stage, Henderson said: “I think we can, we have a lot of strength in the team and it is a big ambition for us as a team to win a stage.”
Deignan added:
“We have a really strong group of women now, it is exciting. I think it is the first time we can say that we have four strong road riders that could potentially medal in Paris.
“It is always nice to take a trip to the podium, being in the Queen of the Mountain jersey, and win some flowers. My mum is here so extra motivation there!”
Tomorrow’s third stage will start and finish in front of the iconic Golden Gates of Warrington Town Hall, with the peloton immediately heading south, crossing the River Mersey and Great Manchester Canal. Riders will then pass the stunning Walton Hall and Gardens before breezing through the picturesque Cheshire West and Chester villages of Higher Whitley, Great Budworth and Wincham.
Stage 2 Top Five
1 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx – Protime 50 50 11″ 3:37:12
2 HENDERSON Anna Great Britain 40 30 6″ ,,
3 WIEBES Lorena Team SD Worx – Protime 30 18 4″ 0:20
4 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco 25 13 ,,
5 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 20 10 ,,
GC after Stage 2
1 1 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx – Protime 8 23″ 7:41:07
2 6 HENDERSON Anna Great Britain 6″ 0:17
3 2 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco 9″ 0:34
4 3 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 5″ 0:38
5 4 DEIGNAN Elizabeth Great Britain 0:43
KOPECKY CLINCHES VICTORY AT OPENING STAGE OF 2024 LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN
Stage 1 Welshpool to Llandudno 142.4Kms
Press Release 06 June 2024
World champion Lotte Kopecky stormed to the opening stage win of the 2024 Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women in a tight sprint finish against Letizia Paternoster in Llandudno.
Kopecky put her rainbow stripes on show with a fantastic display of power to take the first stage win, having tackled 142.4km from Welshpool to Llandudno and 2,276m of climbing.
Departing from Welshpool’s Broad Street in the heart of mid-Wales, Josie Talbot (Cofidis) made the first significant move of the day, before an attack from Christine Majerus (SD Worx – Protime) closed the gap.
Reaching the foothills of the first Queen of the Mountains, the formidable Llangynog climb averaging 5.3%, Connie Hayes (Doltcini O’Shea) launched the first move to increase the pace up the 6.1km climb, before being marked by Elena Cecchini (SD Worx-Protime). A furious display of power from Heidi Franz (Lifeplus Wahoo) saw her take the first maximum points.
A small but strong group of riders, including Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health), Millie Couzens (Great Britain Cycling Team), Amber Pate (Liv Alula Jayco), Valeria Demey (Volkerwessels Pro Cycling Team), Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) and Franziska Koch (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), took the lead with 70km remaining and forced a gap on the main peloton.
National Road Series leader Lucy Harris (Pro-Noctis-200 ° Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting) went off the front, powering her way to a lead of up to a minute, which was enough to earn her the Combativity Award, before Elinor Barker’s (Great Britain Cycling Team) injection of pace from the peloton saw her caught up the second Queen of the Mountains, Ty’n y Llidiart.
Pfeiffer Georgi (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) put in a huge kick approaching the top of the climb, but the national champion was chased by the Great Britain Cycling Team, with Lizzie Deignan taking the Queen of the Mountain ahead of teammate Anna Henderson.
The British duo continued to push over the top of the climb along with Letizia Paternoster (Liv-Alula-Jayco), Georgi, Kopecky, Majerus, Victore Guilman (St Michel – Mavic – Auber93), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-Alula-Jayco) and Eline Jansen (Volkerwessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team), taking a lead of a minute and 14 seconds.
The intermediate sprint of the day saw Paternoster outsprint Kopecky for the bonus seconds in their first battle of the day, as the nine-strong group racked up a three-minute lead with just 10km remaining.
As the riders came into Llandudno’s promenade, it all led down to a tight sprint finish, with Kopecky firing on all cylinders before Paternoster wrestled the world champion to the line. A tense photo finish gave Kopecky the win ahead of the Italian, as Georgi finished in third and Deignan in fourth.
Speaking on her win, Kopecky said:
“I’m not sure if I won and it took quite a while before we found out that I won, so it was a nice final finish. At moments it felt pretty slow because of the wind, however, I’m happy that I could get a break in the final climb.”
Deignan said:
“I was happy with my form today. It was a strange race, almost nothing and everything. We would have liked moments of attack in the final finish, but with the headwinds stretch and the launchpads, we just had to do what we could. I think moving forward it will be a really open race, so hopefully a big breakaway could go, and we can use some of our other ideas and take other opportunities.”
Kopecky’s win puts her at the top of general classification and sprinter’s jersey, while her team DS Worx-ProTime sit in the lead for the team classification. Georgi’s podium finish granted her the Best of British jersey, while Deignan’s climbing antics was enough to secure the Queen of the Mountains category. 22-year-old Jansen finished in fifth place to secure the young rider’s jersey.
Stage 1 Top Five
1 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx – Protime 50 50 12″ 4:04:18
2 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco 40 30 9″,,
3 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 30 18 5″,,
4 DEIGNAN Elizabeth Great Britain 25 13 ,,
5 JANSEN Eline VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team 20 10 ,,
GC after Stage 1
1 KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx – Protime 8 12″ 4:04:06
2 PATERNOSTER Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco 9″ 0:03
3 GEORGI Pfeiffer Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 5″ 0:07
4 DEIGNAN Elizabeth Great Britain 0:12
5 JANSEN Eline VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team ,,