Neve Bradbury takes Women's WorldTour lead with second place in UAE Tour Women

Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) on the final podium of the UAE Tour Women in the Women's WorldTour leader's jersey
Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) on the final podium of the UAE Tour Women in the Women's WorldTour leader's jersey (Image credit: Getty Images)

After the final stage of the UAE Tour Women, second-placed Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) stood on the podium more times than even the race winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime).

The 21-year-old climber had finished runner-up overall and won the white jersey for the best U23 rider, and this also put her into the lead of both the UCI Women’s WorldTour overall and U23 rankings.

Bradbury hadn’t given the season-long classifications much thought before Saturday’s queen stage to Jebel Hafeet, but her second-place finish combined with her results from the Tour Down Under – a third overall – and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – 15th – would put her in the purple of classification leader.

Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.