DSM’s rider Lorena Wiebes won stage 2 of the Women‘s Tour in Harlow. Wiebes took the win by overpowering Barbara Guarischi by a great margin. After a parting sprint by Sammie Stuart (Sammie Stuart), Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) and Gladys Verhulst (Le Col-Wahoo) made a failed attempt to chase down the rider.
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With just 7 km to go, a massive crash took out most riders. But many of the competitors continued to fight for the finale despite the inconvenient event.
Lorena and Gladys fought hard before the 2 km mark. While Charlotte Kool skillfully pitched Wiebes. Afterward, Kool made a sprint for herself, leaving behind a huge gap between her and the remaining contestants. Wiebes gives some details of the crash:
Only Franzi [Koch] and I were in the small peloton after the crash but luckily Megan [Jastrab] and Charlotte [Kool] came back, so I found my own way a bit
She appreciated the efforts of her fellow riders and said:
In the last straight the girls found me again, and we had a really nice lead out; they set me up perfectly. We can be proud of ourselves and are looking forward to the next stages now
Clara Copponi still leads the GC with 3 and 4 seconds ahead of Maike van der Duin and Lorena Wiebes.
Read on to find out what went down on the track.
What Happened?
The stage 2 race at Harlow began with just the right amount of clouds with a sun glancing from behind. The perfect weather made the conditions to race very favorable.
The first sprint was won by Van der Duin followed by Federica Capponi and Elena Cecchini (Team SD Worx) but Capponi strived hard and won the second sprint, taking the lead by 3 seconds, leaving behind Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) and Van der Duin.
The QOM sprint was won by Verhulst, who then made a split with Williams. Stuart was rewarded with the combative prize of the day. The green QOM jersey is still held by Luxembourger by one point.
The riders rumpled into ditches and sidelines as a huge crash took place. Most of them continued to fight for the stage. Verhulst and Williams competed in the final kilometer. With just 200 meters to go, Wiebes attacked furiously, opening a large gap between her and the other sprinters. Guarischi closed in at a second place.
Also Read: David Gaudu Wins Stage 3 Overpowering Van Aert At Critérium Du Dauphiné
Featured Image Via YouTube/ UCI
