Headwind and low gradient stops big splits on Black Mountain stage of Women's Tour

Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com - 10/06/2022 - Cycling - The Women’s Tour 2022 - Stage Five - Pembrey Country Park to The Black Mountain, Wales - Elisa Longo Borghini of Team Trek Segafredo with Grace Brown of Team FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope and Kirsten Faulkner of Team Bike Exchange Jayco on her wheel
Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) pushes the pace on Black Mountain ahead of Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) (Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)

Despite being the queen stage of the six-day Women’s Tour, Friday’s finish atop Black Mountain in Wales failed to produce the big general classification splits that were anticipated.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) won stage 5, but with five riders all finishing on the same time, the Italian wasn’t able to claim the race lead from Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), and goes into the final stage on equal time with the Australian. 

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Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported from many of the biggest events on the calendar, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France Femmes, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.