Jolien D'hoore (Boels-Dolmans) wins stage 3 at the OVO Energy Women's Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
2019 Women's Tour of Scotland stage 1(Image credit: Women's Tour of Scotland)
Klein wins BeNe Ladies Tour
Lisa Klein (Canyon-SRAM) secured the overall victory at the BeNe Ladies Tour that ended in Zelzate, Belgium, on Sunday. The 23-year-old German, who won the opening prologue and the stage 2b time trial, said she was surprised with her top form.
"Winning this stage race out of my recent training camp was really surprising," Klein said in a team press release. "It gives me confidence for the upcoming season highlights."
The five-stage race ended on Sunday with a 112km circuit race in Zelzarte won by Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg).
"The team did a great job, especially in the final stage. Tanja (Erath) won the second intermediate sprint and took away the seconds from Amy (Pieters) who was second on GC. Rotem (Gafinovitz) controlled the bunch and kept me in good position. It was a fast and furious 12km circuit race with plenty of corners, narrow roads, and a type of cobblestone section. Without the efforts from my teammates, the GC win would have not been possible," Klein said.
"I was happy that we were able to handle the final stage better than in Healthy Ageing Tour when I had fireworks in my ear to correct the race situation! BeNe Ladies Tour was the first time I had Lars Teutenberg as a Sports Director and I liked it. All of the riders performed well in the last four days, and our staff were just super."
Klein took the GC win, teammate Tanja Erath finished fifth in the general classification, just ahead of Hannah Ludwig who finished sixth. Ludwig also won the beat young rider classification.
D’hoore breaks elbow at BeNe Ladies Tour
Jolien D'hoore (Boels Dolmans) has suffered another setback this time a broken left elbow sustained in a crash during the opening stage at the BeNe Ladies Tour last week.
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"First of all, sorry for the late update about my injury but I needed some time to let it all sink in," a disappointed D’hoore wrote in a post on Twitter. "I crashed in the sprint with 1k to go together with 30-40 riders in the first stage of the BeNe Ladies Tour. In the hospital the results were clear; a fracture to my left elbow. Thanks for AZ Elizabeth in Herentals and dr. Tom Teuglinckx, I already had surgery the day after."
D’hoore is expected to be out of training and racing for six to eight weeks while she recovers from surgery. She suffered a broken collarbone in March but came back to win the opening stage at the OVO Energy Women’s Tour.
"I need time to give all of this a place, clear my mind and put my bike aside," she wrote. "It’s not only a physical setback, I would say it affects me more mentally to start with another rehab as it is the second fracture in only five months, missing again my big goals - RideLondon, EC Alkmaar and Sweden. I can’t explain in world how devastated I am but life goes on."
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins sixth French MTB title in Alpe d’Huez
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won her sixth consecutive MTB title at the French national championships race in Alpe d'Heuz, France. The former multiple-discipline world champion only recently returned to racing in April after undergoing successful surgery to correct iliac artery endofibrosis in both legs.
"It's always important to me to defend my title. I woke up yesterday morning and in some ways felt more pressure than if it was a World Cup. I knew if I finished second, it would be a bad result for me." said Ferrand-Prévot after her race.
The 27-year-old will now look to the final five weeks of the MTB season, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on her goals to win a World Cup in 2019 and a top result at the World Championships.
"I did a top five in Les Gets World Cup, and my next goal is a top three in Val di Sole in two week's time. Every week I'm feeling more and more in shape. I’m super happy because I have no pain in my leg anymore and I can say that my surgery was a success. I hope to be back at my best level in a few weeks, ready for the MTB World Championships in Canada at the end of August," added Ferrand-Prévot.
At the end of last November, Ferrand-Prèvot revealed that she had been suffering 'inexplicable pain' in her left leg for four years, first discovered in June of 2015. She announced in December that she would have to sit out of competition for four months after discovering she would need surgery to treat iliac artery endofibrosis in both her left and right legs.
She was forced to skip the cyclo-cross season and the start of the road season with Canyon-Sram.
Doctors advised Ferrand-Prévot to not exercise during the first four weeks after surgery. She was then permitted to start with a walking program, and after a further two weeks she returned to low-intensity cycling.
Team announced for inaugural women's Tour of Scotland
The inaugural Women’s Tour of Scotland announced the list of teams that will compete the race held from August 9-11. Team Scotland will be led by captain Katie Archibald, who unveiled the coveted Baillie Gifford leader’s jersey, at the investment management firm’s HQ in Edinburgh at the beginning of July.
"It is both an honour and a privilege to be leading my country in this race. My journey from being just being a wee girl enjoying riding my bike around Glasgow to now be competing at this level of racing on my own roads is something really special," Archibald said.
"It’s great to see such a great list of teams, with some of the best riders in the world competing for this coveted yellow jersey. We can’t wait to put on a show for the home fans, so hopefully everyone will come out and watch the race. Roll on August.”
There will be a total of 16 teams competing from a total of 20 different countries, including some of the top teams in the world; Ale Cipollini, Bigla and Lotto Soudal Ladies. American teams on the start line will be Tibco-SVB, with Brodie Chapman, and Rally UHC, with Emma White.
The Italian outfit Ale Cipollini will be led by Australian sprinter Chloe Hosking, the current Commonwealth Games champion. The race’s other teams see Team GB go up against their Scottish counterparts and other UK based teams including Brother and Torelli, who have included Scotland’s Jen George their roster. Drops Cycling will be led by the impressive GB rider Elinor Barker.
The Baillie Gifford leader’s jersey is made from recycled plastic bottles and is traditional race yellow with a Scottish twist - a saltire design in blue and purple. It will be awarded to the leading rider at the end of each stage and the final race winner.
With its first major professional sports sponsorship, Baillie Gifford hopes that supporting women’s cycling will help bring it up to equal footing with the men’s. Lynn Dewar, partner at Baillie Gifford said: “The new Tour resonated with us in many different ways. Treating people equally, teamwork, strong role models, health and environmental wellbeing, and endurance all match the core values of our firm.”
Jack Royle, Head of Partnerships at the Women’s Tour of Scotland said: “Bringing a women’s professional race to Scotland before the men’s equivalent represented a landmark moment. We set out with a commitment to ensure it delivered equal pay to its men’s counterpart and wanted to put sustainability at the forefront of a professional race. It’s hugely exciting to be delivering on these objectives with the support of Baillie Gifford as our lead partner.”
