Lorena Wiebes takes second consecutive stage victory in the Lloyds Tour of Britain

In a chaotic second stage of the Tour of Britain, Lorena Wiebes proved to be the fastest rider for the second day in a row. The Dutch WorldTour team remained in control throughout the race, allowing Wiebes to power her way to a second consecutive stage win in the leader’s jersey despite a strong headwind. Steffi Häberlin will also wear the Queen of the Mountains jersey tomorrow. “This is a very nice start to the Lloyds Tour of Britain,” said sports director Christian Kos.

Lorena Wiebes: “It was a rainy day. The race was neutralised on the second climb and we stood still for quite a long time, which made it even colder. When the race resumed, there were immediately a lot of attacks. But we always had someone in the moves, so everyone on our team did a great job. When one rider was out front on her own towards the end, it was clear that the peloton would bring her back. It was raining heavily at that point, which made things dangerous, but my teammates kept me well positioned at the front."

“I got a good lead-out. It may have come a little too early, but we had no other choice because there was quite a strong headwind. In the final metres, I was able to find my own way. I launched my sprint a bit earlier than planned because I was afraid of getting boxed in. Even so, I was able to sprint and I’m happy that I could finish off the work of my teammates. It’s also great that Steffi Häberlin will be wearing the Queen of the Mountains jersey tomorrow. Tomorrow brings the first real day for the general classification. After that, we’ll see where we stand,” said Wiebes.

Sports director Christian Kos: “We controlled the last 65 kilometres. We had to start the work in the front early, actually a little too early, which meant our lead-out was finished sooner than planned. But fortunately, Lorena always finds a way. We were able to deliver her with around 500 metres to go and she did the rest brilliantly. This is a fantastic start to the Tour of Britain. The tougher stages are coming up now and we hope to continue this momentum.”