Horrible weather takes its toll in Tour of Britain: Faulkner loses lead after two crashes, Ferguson triumphs after bizarre race

The third stage, which took the riders to and from Kelso, featured several challenging climbs. Dunion Hill and Dingleton, in particular, could cause a lot of damage, but the weather was not on their side either. It was pouring in Scotland, setting the tone for a crazy stage. After just 30 kilometers, the big names started to break away. Elizabeth Deignan took off, forcing leader Kristen Faulkner to respond.

Amber Kraak also tried, but she was later caught by the peloton, which now consisted of only 30 riders with 100 kilometers to go. The breakaways kept coming, with Lidl-Trek particularly active. Deignan tried again, but her teammate Emma Norsgaard also got involved. However, the result was not what the American team hoped: everything came back together, leaving a depleted peloton at the front of the race. depleted peloton at the head of the race.

Things had calmed down briefly, but a terrible crash severely disrupted that. Among those involved were leader Faulkner and Lorena Wiebes. Her teammate Barbara Guarischi screamed in pain, and the winner of stage 2, Mara Roldan (Picnic PostNL), also had to abandon the race: it was a dramatic scene. This put the race on hold for a while, as every team had to tend to their wounds. This allowed Faulkner to return to the front group. But the weather was treacherous, and the wet roads caused more chaos.

With 35 kilometers to go, there were riders on the asphalt again, and who was among them? Yes, Faulkner. The American had incredible bad luck and had to chase again. However, due to a broken shoe that had to be replaced, the EF Education - Oatly rider suddenly found herself more than a minute behind. At the front, the race continued, and it was Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (CANYON//SRAM) who pulled away on the Dingleton climb. The Dane showed her strength, and only a few competitors could keep up.

Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) and her teammate Eleonora Gasparrini were among them. Still, Ally Wollaston (FDJ-SUEZ), Cat Ferguson (Movistar), and Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) were also able to keep up. Their gap was not very big: a group behind them consisted of a dozen chasers, but many teams had a rider in front of them. Charlotte Kool was still in a good position, but with Nelson in front, she had to stay quiet. So the work had to come from Liv AlUla Jayco and Visma | Lease a Bike.

Thanks to Gasperrini, who gave everything for Swinkels, the six remained ahead, which was reduced to five: Ludwig had mechanical trouble and dropped out of the leading group. The remaining attackers extended their lead to half a minute, and so the five at the front would battle not only for the stage win but also for the overall victory: Swinkels, Wollaston, and Ferguson were very close together.

Swinkels didn't want to wait and decided to attack. It hurt the others, but they couldn't get away. The weather was horrible again in the last 2 kilometers, and the finish was on cobblestones. It was asking for trouble, but everyone stayed upright. In the end, Ferguson prevailed, ahead of Nelson and Wollaston. The young British rider took the lead from Faulkner and looks set to become the first British winner of the Tour of Britain since Deignan in 2019.