Consisting of six riders from four different trade teams, the British national team selected for the Tour of Britain Women was making its mark on the race for the second day in a row. Lizzie Deignan (usually Lidl-Trek) defended her blue mountain classification jersey Friday, and on the Horseshoe Pass, it was time for Anna Henderson (usually Visma-Lease a Bike) to shine.
Henderson was the only one who was able to follow the attack of Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), eventually finishing runner-up on the stage and moving to second overall. The result is even more noteworthy as this is Henderson’s first race back after suffering a collarbone fracture in the Vuelta Femenina in late April.
“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 stage back after breaking my collarbone,” said the 25-year-old.
Deignan took points on the first classified climb, Eyton Hill, as well as on Horseshoe Pass where she was third over the top, 15 seconds behind Kopecky and Henderson. The 35-year-old extended her lead in the QOM classification to 10 points over Kopecky and Henderson, and 11 points to Heidi Franz (Lifeplus-Wahoo).
“We knew there’d be two pretty difficult climbs today, and I knew that I would have a good shot defending the jersey, and I thought, ‘well, I’ve got it now, let’s try to keep it’,” Deignan was nonchalant about her effort after the stage.
Halfway through their home race, the national team now occupied second and fifth place in the general classification on top of holding the QOM jersey – but their big goal was a stage win.
“I think we can [do it]. We have a lot of strength in the team, and it is a big ambition for us as a team to win a stage,” said Henderson with optimism.
Saturday’s stage 3 with its start and finish in Warrington is the next opportunity for that but will probably be a tough nut to crack against an all-star SD Worx-Protime squad.
“I think tomorrow should be a sprint, and I would expect that now that Lotte is comfortably in the lead, that they’ll probably go for Wiebes in the sprint. I mean, she’s the fastest in the world, and it will be up to the rest of us to try to upset that plan, I guess,” said Deignan.
