Stage 1 of The Women's Tour, the British Women's WorldTour race that this year encompasses England and Wales, got off to an odd start.
A mostly flat stage saw the majority of the action in the peloton focused around
the sprint and mountain points, with the skirmishes taken out by Christine Majerus (SD Worx) in the Queen of the Mountains category, with Maike van der Duin (Le Col-Wahoo) winning both of the intermediate sprints.
The lone attacker of the day to get any leeway was Danni Shrosbree (CAMS – Basso) who built up a lead of just over a minute and a half. However, with 35 kilometres left of the race’s 142.1-kilometre course to race, the riders were brought to a halt, with a crash ahead of the race requiring emergency attention.
The race was stopped for 55 minutes, with news filtering through that a police motorcycle outrider ahead of the race was involved in a collision.
“The motorcyclist sustained a leg and shoulder injury and was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been discharged,” a Women’s Tour spokesperson said after the stage's conclusion.
Shrosbee had almost an extra hour without being caught, but it wasn't to help her much with the sprint teams spoiling for the flat finish in Bury St. Edmunds.
The run-in to the finish line next to the St. Edmundsbury Cathedral was technical, with the road width fluctuating several times in the final kilometre, with parked cars and a total of four turns only adding to the difficulty.
The final sharp turn caused the carnage in the end, with Team DSM's Charlotte Kool leading out in-form teammate Lorena Wiebes at the front of the peloton. The Dutch rider’s bike slid out on the wet road, seeing her to crash into the barriers and bring down several other riders.
Wiebes managed to avoid the sliding Kool but she was also soon to crash, as her wheel slipped out and she hit the barriers on the tight turn.
Trek-Segafredo's Australian sprinter Chloe Hosking avoided crashing but was held up behind the downed riders, ruling her out of sprinting for the win.
It resulted in a messy dash to the line, with Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) taking the win ahead of Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) and Elena Cecchini (Team SD Worx), all three more highly regarded as classics riders than pure sprinters.
It was Copponi's first professional win, with the 23-year-old taking over the race lead as well with the performance.
"I did my best and I’m so happy," said Copponi. "I’m so excited, it’s a great day – it’s my first victory. I am excited for the rest of the week. I love England!”
The Women's Tour continues with a short, sharp stage of 92 kilometres starting and finishing in Harlow for Stage 2.
Watch on SBS On Demand from 9.30pm AEST and make sure to catch The Women's Tour live show with Kate Bates, Gracie Elvin and Christophe Mallet nightly from 6.00pm AEST on the SBS Sport Facebook and Youtube pages.
