Tour of Britain Women stage 2 result: Freezing rain delays play, but can't stop a red-hot Lorena Wiebes

Lorena Wiebes won the second stage of the Tour of Britain Women. The Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime was the fastest after a chaotic day in the British rain, during which the race was neutralised for a long time due to a crash. Once the race resumed, Wiebes was once again by far the fastest in a straight line.

The first stage of the Tour of Britain was a real treat. In the hilly countryside of northern England, the final hour of racing was thrilling, with the attackers doing everything they could to shake off Lorena Wiebes. They didn’t succeed, so the Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime coolly sealed the victory in the sprint.

And on day two, there was a stage where it seemed even harder to beat the super sprinter. After a fairly tough first hour of racing, it would get a lot easier after that, with very little elevation gain. Early in the race, there was still a battle for the mountain jersey. It was held by Audrey De Keersmaeker (Picnic PostNL), but Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime) earned points and became the new leader.

Katrine Aalerud broke away in those hills. The Norwegian rider from Uno-X Mobility set off on her own adventure. Not long after, however, the race was neutralized: an ambulance had to pass through the race due to an accident on the course. The riders had to stand still for over three-quarters of an hour, which was certainly no fun in the cold and pouring rain.

Once the race got going again, it looked like we were heading for a sprint finish. Aalerud was caught, but the breakaway riders wanted to keep going. Even on the flat sections, they tried to make things difficult for SD Worx-Protime. Oda Aune Gissinger (Hitec Products - Fluid Control) managed to break away briefly, but the Dutch team was fine with that and calmly maintained control.

Gissinger held on for a long time, but when the sprint trains kicked in, she was caught. Wiebes was once again set up perfectly; she went for it early and sprinted away from the pack.

1. Lorena Wiebes
2. Maggie Coles-Lyster
3. Kim Le Court