Lorena Wiebes claimed her fourth stage victory at the Tour of Britain Women, while Kim Le Court-Pienaar secured the overall title.
The SD Worx-Protime sprinter again proved untouchable on a finish built for speed and precision. Her team guided her through a twisting finale, then delivered her into the final straight in the best position.
Wiebes accelerated out of the last corner and quickly opened a decisive gap. Chiara Consonni tried to respond after Zoe Bäckstedt led out for Canyon-SRAM, but Wiebes had already gone clear.
Lara Gilespie of UAE Team L’Imad came through to take second place, edging Consonni into third. Bäckstedt finished fourth after her lead-out effort, with Pfeiffer Georgi fifth for Picnic-PostNL.
Behind the sprint, Le Court-Pienaar finished safely in the bunch to protect her green leader’s jersey. The AG Insurance-Soudal rider had taken control of the race with an attacking ride on stage three, which finished on The Great Orme.
Tour of Britain Women sprint belongs to Wiebes
Wiebes has controlled the flat and fast finishes throughout the race. She won every stage that did not finish uphill, taking four victories from five stages.
Her latest win also lifted her into second overall, moving Liane Lippert of Movistar down to third. Wiebes also won the red points jersey after another commanding performance.
The result continues a prolific season for the Dutch sprinter. She now has 19 victories from just 37 race days.
That total includes two stage wins at the Tour de France, where she also built the foundation for her green points jersey victory. Her best previous season came last year, when she won 25 races.
Breakaway survives until the final kilometre
The sprint finish was not guaranteed for much of the stage. Alice Towers, Eva van Agt and Sara Martín attacked in the early kilometres outside Royal Leamington Spa.
The trio built a lead of more than two minutes and held it beyond the final climb of Burton Dassett. Their advantage remained over one minute with 10km still to race.
SD Worx-Protime took responsibility after the climb and began cutting into the gap. With 20km remaining, the leaders still had 1:30, but fatigue started to show.
Other teams then joined the chase, including Human Powered Health. The peloton finally caught the break just as the race entered the final kilometre.
Bäckstedt moved quickly to the front for Canyon-SRAM, aiming to set up Consonni. Once Wiebes launched, however, nobody could match her acceleration.
Stage result
- 1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, 3:02:29
- 2. Lara Gilespie (Irl), UAE Team L’Imad
- 3. Chiara Consonni (Ita), Canyon-SRAM
- 4. Zoe Bäckstedt (GBr), Canyon-SRAM
- 5. Pfeiffer Georgi (GBr), Picnic-PostNL
- 6. Nienke Veenhoven (Ned), Visma-Lease a Bike
- 7. Josie Nelson (GBr), Picnic-PostNL
- 8. Caroline Andersson (Swe), Liv AlUla Jayco
- 9. Millie Couzens (GBr), Fenix-Premier Tech
- 10. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Can), Human Powered Health
Final general classification
- 1. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (Mau), AG Insurance-Soudal, 17:02:04
- 2. Lorena Wiebes (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, +19s
- 3. Liane Lippert (Ger), Movistar, +24s
- 4. Caroline Andersson (Swe), Liv AlUla Jayco, +39s
- 5. Femke De Vries (Ned), Visma-Lease a Bike, +44s
- 6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned), UAE Team L’Imad, +46s
- 7. Mischa Bredewold (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, same time
- 8. Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (Den), Canyon-SRAM, same time
- 9. Josie Nelson (GBr), Picnic-PostNL, +56s
- 10. Riejanne Markus (Ned), Lidl-Trek, +1:06
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