by Anna Magrath | May 16, 2016
All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
The first ever Women’s Lincoln Grnd Prix was a fantastic start to days racing. The 8 lap race was run off at almost 24mph as Alice Barnes crossed the line in 2hours 38mins.
Highlights from the first women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the third round of the Women’s Road Series. May 15th 2016
Highlights from the first women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the third round of the Women’s Road Series.
Alice Barnes of Drops Cycling Team talks to CyclingShorts.cc Chris Maher about her 2016 win of the Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix. All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Ellie May of Drops Cycling Development Team briefly chats to Chris Maher of CyclingShorts.cc post Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix 2016.
WOMENS’ LINCOLN GRAND PRIX 2016
Pos No Name Team JUN TIME
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 2:38:44
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team @6sec
3 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team
4 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze @17sec
5 66 Charlotte Alston Team 22 @20sec
6 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @29sec
7 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost @36sec
8 113 Eleanor Dickinson Drops Cycling Development Team Junior @42secs
9 118 Jessica Roberts Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior
10 35 Eileen Roe Lares-Waowdeals Women Cycling Team @49sec
11 121 Sophie Wright Renvale RT Junior
12 52 Ausrine Trebaite PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team @53sec
13 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
14 71 Emily Kay Team Breeze
15 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze
16 22 Rose Osborne Drops Cycling Team @56sec
17 110 Emily Wadsworth Beeline-Gener8 Junior @58sec
18 39 Laura Greenhalgh Les Filles Racing Team
19 96 Natalie Grinczer Team WNT
20 81 Julie Erskine Team Ford Ecoboost
21 70 Hayley Jones Team Breeze
22 135 Henrietta Colborne Team Ford Ecoboost Junior @1:04
23 30 Fiona Hunter Johnston Fusion RT Fierlan
24 57 Gabriella Shaw Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
25 9 Emma Cockcroft Bikeshed – Bianchi
26 77 Madison Campbell Team Footon Velosport
27 45 Amira Mellor Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles
28 109 Alice Sharpe SunSport Velo
29 134 Charlotte Broughton Team Ford Ecoboost Junior @1:09
30 29 Jennifer Hudson Fusion RT Fierlan
31 1 Louise Laker Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
32 94 Rebecca Carter Team WNT
33 27 Sophie Faulkner Fusion RT Fierlan
34 79 Suzetta Guerrini Team Footon Velosport
35 6 Charmaine Porter Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) @1:14
36 26 Ellie Campbell Fusion RT Fierlan
37 92 Lydia Boylan Team WNT @1:16
38 25 Rebecca Womersley Drops Cycling Team
39 107 Sarah King BC Private Member
40 13 Kelly Murphy Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
41 37 Clemence Copie Les Filles Racing Team
42 23 Annabel Simpson Drops Cycling Team @1:21
43 56 Bethany Hayward Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa @1:21
44 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team
45 80 Melissa Brand Team Ford Ecoboost
46 3 Gemma Sargent Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @1:24
47 44 Alice Cobb Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles @1:29
48 100 Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds CC @1:33
49 19 Karla Boddy Drops Cycling Team
50 24 Abigail Van Twisk Drops Cycling Team @1:40
51 14 Bethany Taylor Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C @1:54
52 116 Elizabeth Bennett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @3:14
53 99 Hannah Walker Team WNT @3:16
54 117 Lauren Murphy Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @3:21
55 59 Sian Botteley Starley Racing @3:27
56 60 Eve Dixon Starley Racing @3:54
57 137 Sarah Bradford Team Jadan Junior @4:13
58 119 Emily Tillett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @7:33
59 41 Nicole Oh Les Filles Racing Team @7:36
60 5 Chanel Mason Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) @7:41
61 50 Edita Mazureviciute PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team @7:47
62 16 Niki Kovacs Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @8:35
63 75 Emily Nelson Team Breeze @9:33
64 124 Natasha Reddy RP Vision Racing Team Junior @9:35
65 139 Jenny Holl Team Jadan Junior @9:38
66 131 Samantha Verrill Team 22 Junior @9:40
67 64 Claire Swoboda Starley Racing @9:44
68 126 Sophie Thackray SunSport Velo Junior @947
69 90 Jennifer Batey Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com @9:50
70 133 Hetty Niblett Team Footon Velosport Junior @9:55
71 123 Connie Hudson RP Vision Racing Team Junior @10:07
72 138 Rhona Callander Team Jadan Junior @10:24
DNF 2 Emily McLoughlin Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNF 3 Gemma Sargent Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNF 7 Chloe Weller Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT)
DNF 8 Becky Hoare Army Cycling Union
DNF 10 Jessica Duffy Bikeshed – Bianchi
DNF 11 Alexandra Sheehan Bikeshed – Bianchi
DNF 12 Nikola Matthews Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
DNF 15 Ruth Taylor Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
DNF 28 Jenny Holden Fusion RT Fierlan
DNF 38 Tracy Corbett Les Filles Racing Team
DNF 46 Malgorzata Wojtyra PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNF 49 Karolina Karasiewicz PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNF 53 Lauren Creamer Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
DNF 55 Amy Gornall Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
DNF 58 Karen Poole Sportstest RT
DNF 61 Lauren Kirchel Starley Racing
DNF 63 Gabriella Nordin Starley Racing
DNF 65 Madeleine Scott SunSport Velo
DNF 67 Rachel Crighton Team 22
DNF 78 Josphine Gilbert Team Footon Velosport
DNF 83 Charline Joiner Team Ford Ecoboost
DNF 87 Louise Scupham Team Jadan
DNF 88 Amy Hill Team Rytger
DNF 91 Evgenia Ilyinskaya Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com
DNF 93 Sam Burman Team WNT
DNF 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT
DNF 101 Nicki Carr VC Equipe – Flix
DNF 104 Madeline Verdegaal Velo-One Cycling Team
DNF 105 Ruth Summerford Velopace
DNF 108 Stephanie Mottram Cliff Pratts Racing
DNF 112 Monica Dew Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C Junior
DNF 115 Victoria Lovett I-Team Cyclists’ Club Junior
DNF 120 Isla Rush Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles Junior
DNF 122 Madeleine Gammons RP Vision Racing Team Junior
DNF 125 Jane Hellewell SunSport Velo Junior
DNF 127 Elizabeth Denby Team 22 Junior
DNF 129 Phoebe Martin Team 22 Junior
DNF 130 Savannah Morgan Team 22 Junior
DNS 4 Agata Woznicka Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNS 25 Rebecca Womersley Drops Cycling Team
DNS 30 Fiona Hunter Johnston Fusion RT Fierlan
DNS 31 Elizabeth Stedman Fusion RT Fierlan
DNS 32 Neah Evans Glasgow Sprint Track Cycling Team
DNS 33 Annabel Simpson Hope Factory Racing
DNS 34 Gaia Casciello Kinetic Cycles / Welwyn Racing
DNS 36 Delia Beddis Les Filles Racing Team
DNS 42 Helen Ralston Les Filles Racing Team
DNS 43 Chloe Fraser LOINTEK
DNS 47 Volha Antonava PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 48 Olivija Baleisyte PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 51 Anastasia Safonava PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 62 Alice Lethbridge Starley Racing
DNS 68 Megan Barker Team Breeze
DNS 69 Abigail Dentus Team Breeze
DNS 72 Danielle Khan Team Breeze
DNS 73 Manon Lloyd Team Breeze
DNS 82 Elizabeth Holden Team Ford Ecoboost
DNS 85 Laura Cheesman Team Jadan
DNS 95 Corinne Clark Team WNT
DNS 97 Keira McVitty Team WNT
DNS 102 Katherine Kimber Velo Schils – Interbike RT
DNS 103 Nicola Soden Velo Schils – Interbike RT
DNS 106 Hayley Edwards WBN? Cinelli
DNS 111 Ella Conolly Ben Wyvis Cycle Club
DNS 114 Sophie Williams Elitevelo Kalas Sportswear CRT
DNS 128 Rosa Martin Team 22
DNS 140 Rebecca Gregson The Racing Chance Foundation
DNS 141 Charlotte Cole-Hossain VC Londres
DNS 142 Megan Kay Vieri Velo RC
BRITISH CYCLING JUNIOR WOMENS ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP 2106
Pos No Name Team
1 113 Eleanor Dickinson Drops Cycling Development Team
2 118 Jessica Roberts Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
3 121 Sophie Wright Renvale RT
4 110 Emily Wadsworth Beeline-Gener8
5 135 Henrietta Colborne Team Ford Ecoboost
6 134 Charlotte Broughton Team Ford Ecoboost
7 116 Elizabeth Bennett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
8 117 Lauren Murphy Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
9 137 Sarah Bradford Team Jadan
10 119 Emily Tillett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
11 124 Natasha Reddy RP Vision Racing Team
12 139 Jenny Holl Team Jadan
13 131 Samantha Verrill Team 22
14 126 Sophie Thackray SunSport Velo
15 133 Hetty Niblett Team Footon Velosport
16 123 Connie Hudson RP Vision Racing Team
17 138 Rhona Callander Team Jadan
WOMENS’ MICHAELGATE TROPHY. PRESENTED BY IAN EMMERSON
POS No NAME TEAM POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 13
2 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 8
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 7
4 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 6
5 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 5
6 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT 3
7 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team 2
8 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze 1
9 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
10 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze 1
11 16 Niki Kovacs Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
LAP 1 POINTS
1 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 3
2 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team 2
3 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 1
LAP 2 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 2
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 1
LAP 3 POINTS
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 3
2 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 2
3 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze 1
LAP 4 POINTS
1 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT 3
2 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 2
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 1
LAP 5 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 2
3 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze 1
LAP 6 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 2
3 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
LAP 7 POINTS
1 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 3
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 2
3 66 Charlotte Alston Team 22 1
FINISH POINTS
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 3
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 2
3 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 1
by Anna Magrath | Apr 30, 2016
Words by Anna Magrath Images by Chris Maher
Record Crowds for Spectacular Day 2 of Tour de Yorkshire
Over one million spectators came out to cheer on the riders for the second day of the Tour de Yorkshire, as the county celebrated a ground breaking day for women’s cycling.
Glorious sunshine started the day in Otley for the hotly anticipated Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race where World Champion Lizzie Armitstead led the peloton out of her hometown.
Crowds bigger than those who witnessed the Grand Départ in Otley cheered on as 100 of the world’s best female riders took part including Rio hopeful Emma Pooley; Dani King and Lucy Garner from British squad Wiggle High5, Hitec Products brought one of the world’s strongest sprinters Kirsten Wild and Dame Sarah Storey took part – Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian in history.
Speaking before the start Lizzie Armitstead, racing in her World Champions jersey for the first time in the UK, paid tribute to her home town of Otley and the immense support she was receiving.
The 136km race was a game changer for women’s cycling in the UK as it took the same route as the men’s and offered over £50,000 (€63,623) – currently the biggest prize pot in women’s cycling.
The winner of the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire was Kirsten Wild from Team Hitec Products who crossed the finish line in Doncaster before thousands of cheering fans.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said:
“Today has been an historic day for women’s cycling and it’s been a spectacular day of racing. The crowds were once again phenomenal and to see how the people of Yorkshire have taken this event to their hearts is just overwhelming. There was so much spirit and positivity in Yorkshire today it was magnificent to see. Clearly the one thing we would have changed if we could was the fact we had intermittent live TV coverage but I must stress that safety is paramount. Unfortunately there was a serious technical fault with the plane relaying the TV signal, the plane had to be grounded and the TV coverage could not continue for this reason.
“Fans and communities have continued their spectacular support for the Tour de Yorkshire not just from the routes but also digitally by sharing images, footage and updates to keep the public informed. Please keep tweeting and following @letouryorkshire and we will be putting highlights online tonight.
“We are now focussed on the day ahead tomorrow from Middlesbrough to Scarborough which promises to be an exhilarating race!”
Kirsten Wild: The plan was to let a little group go with one of us in the break, unfortunately that didn’t work out, the girls did a good chase and we caught them in the final, it was really good work. The sprint was hard, I started a bit too early, and I thought maybe not, there was a really strong headwind, so I let one girl pass and I could follow her and then pass her in the final again. There were a lot of people on the roadside it was really nice to have that support. It’s good to win here in Doncaster.
Lucy Garner: “I couldn’t quite get around Kirsten for the sprint, everyone know she’s an awesome sprinter, she’s definitely the one to beat here today in a sprint, actually for me I’ve not been 100% healthy coming into this race so I couldn’t have asked for more today, especially from my team Wiggle High-5, they did an awesome job to bring the three that were away back. It would have been great if we had a rider up in the break, so we did have to work hard to bring them back but there were other teams working with us who also wanted a sprint finish. We caught the back [of the train] with 4km to go and then it was just a case of focusing on the sprint finish. We knew we had to look out for Lizzie [Armitstead] she’s on great form this season and has won so many races, it’s just lucky for us her breakaway didn’t stay away.”
Lizzie Armitstead: “I wanted to put on an aggressive race and a bit of a show, it’s what it’s all about cycling, it’s a bit of an entertainment show at the end of the day. I wanted to be able to get stuck in and have a go. There were a couple of moments where I thought we could stay away [from the peloton] we were holding them at about a minute and the team car came up and they told us the organisation in the chase is not very good so just keep plugging away, but when we tried towards Doncaster and it was just a block headwind we weren’t getting above 45km per hour I thought, right they are going to be closing that gap pretty quickly.
By the time we were caught I’d burnt all my matches, I tried to get stuck in and help some of the younger girls on my team but actually they didn’t need it, they were quicker than me, so i was really proud of the way GB rode today, there are some young girls in the team and I think they have very bright futures. The course lived up to my expectations, in fact it was better, stating in Otley it was a goose pimple moment. All along the course there were people shouting so thank you to everyone who turned out.”
Jersey winners:
Overall, the winner of the blue Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire jersey was Kirsten Wild; her Hitech teammate Lauren Kitchen took the navy jersey of the Aunt Bessie’s sprint; Rossella Ratto of Cyclance Pro Cycling won the pink Mug Shot Queen of the Mountain jersey; the Howden’s Joinery/RNLI white jersey for best young newcomer went to Lucy Garner and the purple best team classification was awarded by Doncaster Sheffield Airport/Flybe to the Great Britain team.
More images and interviews from the race to come so watch this space!
by Anna Magrath | Apr 30, 2016
All images ©CyclingShorts.cc / Craig Zadoroznyj
Words by Anna Magrath
Stage details:
Start: Beverley
Finish: Settle
187km in length
Victory for the sprinters!
The unpredictable weather didn’t put a dampener on the first stage of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire. The tough day culminated in a crowd pleasing sprint finish on the streets of Settle in glorious sunshine.
Olympian Rebecca Romero waved the riders off in Beverley town centre for the processional start, as the riders were finding their legs there was a pile up mid peloton, a Team Katusha rider face planting on a cattle grid with a tangle of riders on top of him, all but the the rider in red Sven Erik Bystrom made it back up.
The race proper got underway at Beverley Racecourse on the outskirts of the town. The attack came quickly, after his less than successful social media week Pete Kennaugh decided to redeem himself by taking it upon himself to push hard on the front for Team Sky to try to reel the six riders in (Pete Williams OneProCycling, Graham Briggs JLT Condor, Nils Pollit Katusha Cycling, Matt Cronshaw Madison Genesis, Jens Wallays Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise, Sebastian Mora Team Raleigh GAC) escaping down the road and taking a good 1 minute 30 seconds out of the peloton without too much effort. The bunch let them yo-yo for the majority of the race with the group taking a 5 minute lead. They mopped up the first sprint points and the Kom’s with Skipton rider Williams taking the King of the Mountain maximum points and Mora winning the sprint.
Pete Williams had no intention of giving up the fight and after being caught he still tried to fight back but to no avail.
The route took riders through the Wolds, snaking through a sea of yellow and blue decorations to Tadcaster and into the Yorkshire Dales for an exciting finish in Settle. Dylan Groenewegen of the Netherlands, riding with Lotto NL Jumbo, took the win.
Just like for the Tour de France in 2014 and the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire in 2015, Yorkshire truly embraced the spirit of cycling, with towns and villages decked out in banners, bunting and bikes with crowds roaring as the peloton whizzed past.
On their way the riders passed many of the amazing land art installations created by local communities with designs at the top of the Cote de Greenhow Hill and Kelfield.
Action started to hot up at 15km to go, as One Pro Cycling, Orica GreenEdge and Team Sky began to mobilise their sprint trains but not long after, two French riders attacked; Turgis and Voeckler made a perfectly timed break to escape from the bunch. Aided by a tailwind, the French held their gap before British rider Steve Cummings caught the pair, breaking away on his own at 3km to go attempting to time trial to the finish. Cummings extended his gap on the final run into Settle before sitting up and being swallowed by the pack.
From there the technical finish created a fast paced sprint, with Lotto NL Jumbo placing Groenewegen well for the win with Orica GreenEdge’s Caleb Ewan narrowly missing first.
Sir Gary Verity congratulated winner Dylan Groenewegen and praised the people of Yorkshire for their support for the race. He said: “Wow what a day for Yorkshire! The way that thousands of people came out to support the Tour de Yorkshire was just incredible. It is testament to true Yorkshire grit that the weather failed to dampen the spirits of the crowds with people of all ages – from school children to the elderly – cheering on the riders throughout the entire race. It was moving to see.
“The atmosphere at the start in Beverley was just electric and the excitement and energy continued throughout the communities lining the route all the way to the magnificent crowd at the finish in Settle. Yorkshire you should be proud! We promised to deliver a terrific event and the people of the county have helped us do just that. We can’t wait for another two days of exhilarating racing ahead”
Tomorrow’s stage marks an important landmark for women’s racing as world champion Lizzie Armitstead will line up on the start line in her home town for the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire, alongside Great Britain teammate Emma Pooley, as well as Rio hopeful Dani King. One of the world’s top sprinters Kirsten Wild will also join a host of top flight international and domestic riders including our very own Team Jadan-Weldtite (Yorkshire based team) for the race which takes place over the exact same course as the men’s, is fully televised and at the time of racing has the largest prize pot in the world of any women’s race.
Top 10:
1 – Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
2 – Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
3 – Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
4 – Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie
5 – Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
6 – Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
7 – Christopher Lawless (GBr) JLT Condor
8 – Karol Domagalski (Pol) ONE Pro Cycling
9 – Dion Smith (NZl) ONE Pro Cycling
10 – Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
For all race information, results & images visit www.letouryorkshire.com
by Anna Magrath | Apr 29, 2016
L-R: Christian Prudhomme, Lucy Garner, Caleb Ewan, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Dani King & Sir Gary Verity.
Saturday the Men’s and Women’s Stages of Champions take place.
Pre Race Press Conference for the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire
28 April 2016
Anthony McCrossan welcomes the press on the eve of the Tour de Yorkshire 2016 at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, before introducing Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O. Director of Cycling Christian Prudhomme.
Joining them on stage, last years defending champion, winning from start to finish, Lars-Petter Nordhaug of Team Sky and Orica Green-EDGE’s sensational young sprinter Caleb Ewan, making his debut, Olympic Champion, World Champion and European Champion Wiggle High5’s Dani King, and twice Junior World Champion Lucy Garner as the Tour readies itself for the second edition, 29th April to 01st May.
Pre Race Press Conference for the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire
28 April 2016
Anthony McCrossan welcomes the press on the eve of the Tour de Yorkshire 2016 at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, before introducing Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O. Director of Cycling Christian Prudhomme.
Joining them on stage, last years defending champion, winning from start to finish, Lars-Petter Nordhaug of Team Sky and Orica Green-EDGE’s sensational young sprinter Caleb Ewan, making his debut, Olympic Champion, World Champion and European Champion Wiggle High5’s Dani King, and twice Junior World Champion Lucy Garner as the Tour readies itself for the second edition, 29th April to 01st May.
Anthony McCrossan: “This evening the Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour Down Under will sign an agreement to promote each other races across each others territories.”
Sir Gary Verity: The significance of stage two. “Linking Otley, near Leeds, home to our latest world champion Lizzie Armitstead with Doncaster where we pass through Harworth, just to the south, the home of Tom Simpson, our first world Champion.”
“One of the big changes from this year to last is the revolution in women’s cycling.”
Christian Prudhomme applauds 2015 Winner, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Team Sky.
Christian Prudhomme: “The passion that people from Yorkshire have for cycling is just unbelievable. Huge crowds we saw for the Tour de France! One year after, we thought impossible to have the same for the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire. But yes, huge crowds again.”
“The second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire is one step forward again. On Saturday we have women and men the same distance, the same media coverage. We don’t know today what Saturday will mean for the future of cycling.”
Lars-Petter Nordhaug: “We hope to win. We are the biggest team here. We really want to make the race.”
Sir Gary Verity welcomes Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEDGE) to the Tour de Yorkshire.
Caleb Ewan: “I don’t really know how my form is now.” Coming out of a block of training. “I’ve not raced for six weeks.” Calab is hoping to improve towards the end of the race. Although the first stage is billed as a sprinters stage. “It’s not a straight forward sprint as I thought it would be”. Referring to the un-categorised climb on the Settle finish loop!
Dani King: Saturday’s Asda Women’s Race. “I’m really excited to ride here in Yorkshire, we did a reccy today and there were school kids on the side of the road screaming to cheer us.” “I feel proud that Britain is leading the way with the same media coverage.” “It’s amazing the step forward for women’s cycling and I think it’s only going to go further after this race.”
Lucy Garner: Billed also as a sprint finish for the women’s race. “It’s not flat! It’s definitely rolling. I think the weathers going to play a roll in the race, setting off early in the morning”.
In 2014, along with three others Heather established 