German all-rounder to lead Wiggle High5's GC hopes
Lisa Brennauer (Wiggle High5) wins stage 4 at Lotto Thuringen Ladies Tour (Image credit: Wiggle High5)
Lisa Brennauer will lead Wiggle High5 at the upcoming OVO Energy Women's Tour, the 13th round of the Women's WorldTour, held from June 13-17 in Great Britain. The German all-rounder is one of the favourites to win the title this year after recently securing the overall victory at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour.
"I'm feeling well, and of course it was a good time in Thüringen, so I hope I can take my good form into the OVO Tour as well," said Brennauer, who won the overall title in 2015.
This year's parcours is hiller than in previous years. The event includes several climbs that could shake out the overall classification. Stage 2 features climbs over Weedon Hill and Newnham Hill, stage 3 climbs over Edge Hill and Burton Dassett, stage 4 over Snowshill and stage 5 over Nant Gwynant.
"I looked at the profile, and I think some of the cities sound familiar, let's put it this way. It looks like the first part of the tour - I mean it's always up and down the whole time - but the later stages look super-hard to me, towards the end of the week.
"I still remember last year when the race went into the Peak District, and the profile looks like we're doing something like that again."
Wiggle High5's team also includes Katie Archibald, Cordon-Ragot and Elisa Longo Borghini, who finished third in 2016, along with sprinters Annette Edmondson and Kirsten Wild.
"I think we're there with a very strong team, so it's super-exciting, and I hope we can do a very good race," Brennauer said. "Obviously our main sponsors are from Great Britain, so it's a big goal for us, and a big goal for the team as well. So I hope we can do really well there."
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Wild participated in the event in 2016 but this year returns after a successful season. She secured three world titles on the track before starting her road season this spring and comes into the race with stage victories in the Healthy Ageing Tour, the Tour of Chongming Island and the Tour de Yorkshire.
"I did it in 2016 and the only thing I remember is that it was just up and down all day, and only corners," Wild said. "I don't have the best memory actually, I found it a really, really hard race, so I'm not sure if I look forward - I do though.
"I hope for me there is a sprint opportunity and I hope that we can have a good result with the team, and that we can go for a GC result with one of the other girls… not me."
The OVO Energy Women's Tour is expected to open with a bunch sprint during stage 1, so look for Wild to lead the team as she sprints for the finish line in Southwold on Wednesday.
