Catch up with the best of the racing action from the opening stage of the 2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women as the peloton raced from Dalby Forest in the North York Moors to Redcar on the Yorkshire coast.
You can watch stages two, three and four live in full on the @tour.of.britain channel across the rest of the weekend.
[Music] [Music] [Music] heat heat welcome to the 2025 Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women four stages spread across some of the most dramatic countryside that the northeast of England and southern Scotland have to offer and featuring some of the biggest names in women’s cycling reigning European champion Lorenna Weber double Olympic gold medalist Kristen Falner and two-time winner of the tour Lizzie Dynan are amongst the star names competing in this year’s race and if last year’s edition is anything to go by we should be in for some spectacular [Music] racing keep going [Music] [Music] [Music] the 2025 edition of the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women consists of four stages starting in Yorkshire and finishing in Scotland the race begins in Dolby Forest and makes its way across the North York Moors to Red Car stage two is based in the Tease Valley heading south from Hartley to Saltburn by the Sea then the race makes its first ever visit to Scotland starting and finishing in the border town of Kelso and the final stage of this year’s tour sees the riders tackle 10 laps of a city center circuit around Glasgow it all kicks off in Yorkshire’s Dolby Forest better known as a spectacular venue for mountain biking but for today playing host to the elite of women’s road racing i feel really lucky that I know I’m retiring that I know that this is my last tour of Britain and I’m determined to just enjoy it i just think you have an advantage as a British rider on British roads obviously you’ve got the British crowd which are brilliant uh the best in the world I think and um I’m just used to kind of the relentless unforgiven nature of the roads here and I think that is a bit of an advantage to be honest i’d be lying if I said you know I’m I’ve got these big ambitions of winning it i think that’s probably unrealistic honestly I just want to give it my best shot i think we have a really strong lead team so we will be aggressive we have nothing to lose here i’m really excited um I actually had a slow start to the season and so last weekend nationals was kind of me revamping and kind of um really starting to focus in the second half so this is a race that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while there’s a lot of like shallower climbs that accumulate in the legs and so for me that’s the kind of riding I really like and learning how to really use the rolling terrain to your advantage not being a sprinter i’m really hoping that we can mix it up a bit and have some you know exciting finales that aren’t just kind of controlled sprints the last two years 3 years I’ve always come and watch the the men’s and the women’s tour of Britain and I’ve been excited to go and watch you know and now this race is yeah fills me with the most excitement to to race on home roads i would love to get a podium in one of the stages it’s a difficult and big goal but I have managed to to get a world tall podium this year somehow um so if I could repeat that on one of the stages that would be yeah everything that the team has come for i’ve only raced it once in my past and I came last an hour and a half behind so I think it’s a bad memory then and I’m ready to kind of make it a good one as a team we come to win the tour i think it’s a tour for us to to possibly lose you know we one of the teams where I think people are going to look at us so we’re going to race with our hearts out and hopefully get a stage or two and why not the GC as well as 12 World Tour teams competing here there are some from the third division taking part and one of those the Continental Squad Smurfett Westerro cycling team who let us into their meeting before the start of today’s stage we got wet weather this morning make sure your wet bags are all sorted out it’s pretty standard plan i’m sure most of the British teams are going to be trying to put a rider in an early break with it being such a short stage first climb’s going to be important other teams are trying to put riders up there for the start of the climb potentially an early break alex and Lucy G do what you can ride near the front you know what to do i’ve done quite a few World Tour races in the past and it’s it’s very different um and we’ve got a few riders here that it’s their first time racing at this level so yeah it’s really exciting and I mean what an opportunity look after each other and the benefit of covering the moose is you’ll be at the front of the pelaton for the start of the climb which gives you potential slippage route i think we just need to position really well because with the conditions and the wind there could be a lot of splits in the pelaton and we don’t really want to miss the front of the race it’s familiar surroundings for us when you’re abroad you drive on the wrong side of the road it’s you know we have the advantage as such yet we are the you know the underdogs as it were and we’re trying to make the most of that it’s a fantastic opportunity have fun be brave enjoy it even though it’s raining learn from our experiences in check uh it’s the first of four days it’s an opportunity four opportunities each day and yeah we don’t get this opportunity very often so it’s yeah just have fun enjoy it experience it and yeah be brave get stuck in don’t be afraid and position well that’s it really from me we all know what we need to do have a great ride and hopefully you won’t see us as we are call 19 so let’s take a closer look at what lies ahead for the riders today setting off from Dolby Forest in the heart of the North York Moors National Park stage one is short at just 81.5 km and it does include over 1,000 m of ascent the first categorized climb comes at Blakeley Ridge and is quickly followed by the second at Langburn’s Bank from there the Pelaton heads towards the Tease Valley with an intermediate sprint at Newton under Rosebury before hitting the coast for the final few kilometers the finish line is in red car which makes its debut in the women’s race nine months on from hosting a stage in the men’s tour that sets Stevie Williams on his way to overall victory as the riders assemble at the start line it’s time to join your commentary team of Hannah Walker and Haley Simmons riders are ready and keen and eager to get going for stage one of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women we’ve got 12 women’s world tour teams one pro team five continental teams all five of the British continental teams are present including the Great Britain national team we’ve also got five national champions one on the front row there that’s Dominica Vanek the Polish national champion of UAE team Emirates we’ve also got Grove the South African champion atasalo the Finnish champion Kim Lort the maritian champion as well as the newly crowned USA national road race champion Kristen Forner he’s also the Olympic road race champion 110 riders taking to the start as we roll out of Dolby Forest a relatively short stage 81.5 km of racing but by no means an easy stage ahead 1,173 m of elevation but first of all we’ve got this neutralized roll out it’s a moment Haley for the riders to get themselves out of Dolby Forest before a very active start yeah absolutely but it’s definitely not an easy start even in the neutralized section they’re already rolling uphill and then they’re going to denutralize it also on a climb so uh it’s a taste of things to come I think which uh yeah this stage is going to be it’s going to be hard going for the riders we’ve got some of the best riders in the world here in the field including Lorena Weeb is the European champion she has won the most stages of any rider in history six stage wins to her name also Alli Woolston is here for FDJ Suez we’ve got Lauri Gillespie the Irish champion irish rider from UA team ADQ anna Henderson she’s here as is the former road race world champion lizzie Dagnen Kiara Conson watch out for her she’s a fast rider nina Atasalo glennis for Hulsw Wild kim Lort charlotta Cole watch out for the Dutch rider as well as Milinda Duta yeah there are some really big names on this start sheet a lot of riders who have raced uh raced the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women before um also some newcomers and you’ve got people like Cat Ferguson and Imagigen Wolf young riders uh for the Mastar squad and for the team uh Vizmissa bike squad as well who will actually kind of relish these potentially slightly damp conditions this week yeah talk about the damp conditions it’s been raining this morning however now that the riders have gotten underway for this neutralized section the rain is at bay it’s around 15° but you can see that the the roads are patchy they are wet in places and particularly the windy conditions particularly over the North York Malls could have a huge effect today’s stage yeah there are lots of exposed sections on the stage today and notably there are a couple of points in the race where the race direction changes by 90° and therefore the wind conditions will change and that could provide a really good opportunity for teams or riders to uh try and split the race apart it could be a day where the sprinters have their opportunity they have their chance but for any teams here who don’t come with an out andout sprinter within their roster surely they’ll be wanting to try and and use a tactic to try and get rid of those those fast riders yeah it makes the race really exciting sometimes having teams without kind of um a designated leader or or an obvious sprinter because it does just mean that riders will take their opportunity and it makes for some really exciting racing well the flag is waved rod Ellingworth the race director is out of the sunroof of the car kilome0 awaits and the riders go through officially stage one is underway for the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women uae team ADQ are a force at the front with Sophia Berted Zolola Carlin Swinkles Dominica Vladek as well as Elena Baxstead Joe Tinley in the red jersey and the black shorts a little bit further behind her is the European champion Lena Weeb is in the white and blue we’re on to the first queen of the mountain of the day Blakeley Ridge a second categorized climb 6.4 4 km long with an average gradient of 3.9% there’s points available for the first six riders to crest the top of this climb but this is no easy feat you can see already the pace that’s being set at the base of the climb and already some riders with the shoulders rocking and rolling starting to struggle with this pace here yeah normally you might have expected maybe some riders from some of the British Continental teams to have tried to break away and sweep up the Queen of the Mountains points at the top of the climb but as you can see it’s altogether or or mostly altogether with riders more falling off the back rather than escaping from the front and I think that shows you just how hard the stage has been so far and how tough these roads are to race when you take a look at this helicopter shot it gives you an idea and a sense of how exposed it is as well so when you think about the wind conditions and where the wind is coming from and the fact that because there’s no shelter there’s no hedge rows there’s no trees there’s nothing to protect these riders that’s going to have a huge impact on on this climb yeah I think at the moment they’re quite lucky because uh they’re traveling in a northerly direction and the wind’s coming from the southwest so it’s it’s basically a cross tail so it’s kind of assisting them bit um a bit up this climb but I think we’re really going to see the effects after the second Queen of the Mountains uh climb because at that point the road direction changes and as you said it’s all completely exposed as we can see from the overhead shots and um you know that that’s going to mean that any splits that form on the climb could just stay open when you’re on this kind of climb and you see gradients an average gradients of 3.9% and given the fact that you have got that little bit of assistance with the wind do you benefit from the slipstream of sitting in the wheels yeah you want to be kind of nicely positioned uh behind your teammates or in the middle of the bunch and also I think um you know in terms like of a mental point of view it’s a lot easier to be in the middle of the bunch and kind of trying to keep pace with the riders ahead rather than struggling at the back and you know desperately trying to stop gaps opening in front of you it’s nice to be kind of further forward and maybe have a little bit of slipping room if you might need it um but it can be quite difficult if you’re at the back already and then somebody does decide to start accelerating a couple of riders from the Smurfett West Rock cycling team Lucy Harris and Joe Tinley at the back in the red and black jerseys including another rider from one of the Continental teams that’s Liv Venel of Hes cycling team at the front meanwhile it’s the former world champion Lizzie Dyen the rider from Otley in Yorkshire who’s on the front you can see that she’s the former world champion thanks to the rainbow stripes on the cuffs of her sleeves just to her right hand side is Anna Henderson on the wheel is Emma Northgario just speaking into the radio is a teammate Rihanna Marcus they’re the squad of Little Trek in the red yellow and blue jerseys setting a really nice tempo here on the far right hand side it’s the Polish national champion Dominica Vishek you can also see uh Christine Faulner there as well and you know she mentioned how this kind of shallower but unrelenting climb that really accumulates in your legs could suit her and um I think she’ll use this kind of terrain to her advantage over the course of this race they’re going at such speeds and the fact that the Pelaton is all still together it makes it look very simple very easy but that’s far from the truth here absolutely and the other thing to note is actually even when they crest the kind of Queen of the Mountains point at the top of this climb that’s not actually the highest point they’re going to keep ascending so actually riders can’t just be relieved when they pass that Queen of the Mountains uh point they’ve got to stay vigilant and keep going just alongside Little Track in those red blue and yellow jerseys is Picnic Postel in the indigo and orange jerseys i can see Charlott Cole is sitting comfortably there so that’s great news for their Dutch sprinter and of course a former wearer of the yellow jersey in the tour to France fam taking a little f look further back you’ve got Kim Laort the maritian champion just in the bottom right hand leftand corner of your screen just alongside her is the European champion Lena Weebies she’s well protected Weeb is with her teammates and so far we’ve not seen them be too far forward up towards the front they’re very clever at saving as much energy as possible yeah absolutely they’ll keep her well protected and it’s for the other riders they have to pay attention to um the time when teams such as SD works protime do start to move towards the front of the race because that means that something’s quite likely to happen so those are the times where they really need to be vigilant uh because such experienced teams with riders like Lena Vivas you know they they know the points on the course and the points in the stage where it’s going to be important and splits could happen um and so those are the signals where you know you need to think there’s something coming up that I need to be aware of hello Strom at the back there the Swedish rider for CJ O’Shea Racing also two riders from the Great Britain national team in those white jerseys in April Tacy and Anna Morris bringing up the back of the the Palaton meanwhile at the front you’ve got EF Education in those pink jerseys watch out for them they don’t come with an out andout sprinter have they got plenty of options in their lineup including a two-time stage winner in Sarah Roy they’ve got Letitia Borghazi of course Kristen Forna had a slowest start to the season due to the concussion nevertheless she’s clearly back on form after winning the USA road race nationals only a little over a week ago quinty Tarn is up towards the front for Lalula Jacob as is Georgia Baker in those purple jerseys there’s Latitia Patinost in the center of the pelaton in the purple jersey and Costa in the black there with the yellow helmet yeah you can see riders from the same teams just kind of grouping together and just making sure that they’re all as one group and just protecting their team leaders and making sure they get over the top safely over the top of the North York Moors it’s absolutely tremendous it’s beautiful here it makes for hard racing but if you’re wanting to come here for a day out or come on your bike and and have a leisurely ride it’s certainly a beautiful location to come to absolutely we’re being treated to some really stunning scenery today and you know the the roads are grippy it’s hard racing you know Lizzie Denon said it over again how difficult it can be for riders to come to the UK and race if they’re not used to it but she really relishes the terrain here and and actually also the weather that’s a huge huge factor a big factor for certain riders if you don’t mind racing in these kind of conditions where it’s a little bit on the cooler side you’ve got the potential of the rain and then you’ve got these hard grippy roads some of the hardest roads in the whole of Europe let’s take a little look down the center of the road in the pink jersey that’s Alice Towers a former British road race champion they’re getting themselves set as we near the top of this Queen of the Mountain up to Blakeley Ridge it’s categorized to after almost 6.4 kilometers of climbing we’re starting to see the tempo start to build up now more riders starting to struggle at the back of the palaton while it starts to stretch out at the front riders are starting to suffer including one of the riders there from FDJ Suez by the looks of things that is Allesia Vilia yeah riders are desperately trying to cling on because they know that even after they go through the Queen of the Mountains points it’s not going to ease up they’re going to have to keep working so they need to keep the gaps to the minimum now rihanna Marcus still on the front for Leaderek in the red blue and yellow jersey just moving forward the former Australian road race champion in the pink jersey that’s Sarah Roy it’s a relentless climb isn’t it it is and I think what we’re seeing and and what we’ll continue to see is the pace is just going to gradually go up and up and up and then finally probably with you know maybe 500 m or just less to the top of the climb somebody’s going to accelerate because you know there are those uh points on offer at the top of the climb for the Queen of the Mountains jersey and being able to start tomorrow’s stage wearing a jersey is a great honor so those are going to be fought for of course it’s not just the honor for yourself but for the team for your sponsors for your partners to come into such a prestigious race and to wear a leader jersey is for some a a career-defining moment yeah absolutely they get to go on the uh podium at the end of today’s stage they get to line up at the front of tomorrow’s stage um and you know they get to then wear that jersey for the whole of tomorrow and hopefully depend uh defend it further into the race it’s as you said it it’s something that might only happen for riders uh once in their career so everyone’s going to be battling for those points at the top and no doubt there’ll be a fierce battle for the first points on offer in this Queen of the Mountain competition here at the top of Blakeley Ridge don’t forget only the first six riders will score points the first rider to cross the line will take six second will be 5 4 3 2 and one points we go through 500 m to go until they’ll crest the top of this climb it’s absolutely brutal on this kind of climb when you’ve got the wind it’s exposed look at the pace start to ramp up now as a couple of the riders from UnuX Mobility start to move forward they’re on and off the road trying to find and fight for their position they’re jostling their way through riders are so desperate to be up near the front that they’re you know using every single inch of tarmac and sometimes not tarmac just to make sure they stay at the front and don’t get themselves distanced off the back as the pace accelerates it’s so compact here in the Pelaton just trying to find your way through is a difficulty but who’s going to be the first rider the first team to try and launch a move to try and take those maximum points alice Towers goes in the pink jersey she’s being challenged in the black jersey by Anuska Costrau X mobility look at this from the Polish champion in wide though dominica Vladekk is giving Anuska a good run for a money well it looks as though it’s the former Dutch road race champion in that black jersey who took the maximum points ahead of Vladekk looks as though Vizma Lisa got some points there with Margo Viji but look at this this could be a danger because they’ve made that acceleration to go for the points they’ve kept things rolling through here yeah absolutely and the road is going to continue to rise so if they continue to push on then the riders that were starting to be gapped are really going to struggle so those riders towards the back of the pelaton are going to have to kind of wait and hope that the pace drops a little bit and they ease off quinton in the purple jersey she’s there for Liveula Jacob the Dutch rider anna Henderson is there driving things for little track she takes a look over her right hand shoulder she sees her teammate Lizzie Dagen is there so she’s happy to continue to push on and Costa likewise in that black jersey riders wanting to get rid of their Gilelays and rain jackets and there we get confirmation costa taking the six points ahead of Lichek with five marggo Vi taking four points it was Quinty Tom taking three ahead of Towers with two and Anna Henderson taking the one remaining point at the top of Blakeley Ridge at the back it’s all in one long line but this is brutal there are plenty of rising stars in the Tour of Britain Pelaton so before we rejoin the race here’s a chance to find out a bit more about one of them my name is Cat Ferguson and I ride from Misar Team superpower you would like to have teleport teleportation cats or dogs dogs definitely 100% dogs too hot or too cold too too cold because I’m from Yorkshire last song you listen to probably Blue by Bicep favorite movie of all time the Hangover what other sport are you good at skiing your best subject at school pe worst subject at school french favorite word in another language vamos worst type of weather 40° and going up a climb if you could be any animal what would it be i’d be a penguin what dish do you cook best i would say pala recently favorite board game monopoly hands for legs or legs for hands legs for hands and then you’re like a a dog so you can go yeah that definitely that one the sun’s finally made an appearance through the beautiful lush green countryside they’re heading for the next queen of the mountain of the day that’s Langburn’s Banker categorized to climb but the situation on the road well it’s been a a ferocious chase over the top of the moors and right now it’s the Olympic road race champion Kristen Fogner who’s on the front driving the pace and the Pelaton is all lined out stretched out in one long line lena Weave is the European champion is right there on the wheel they get to the base of Langburn’s Bank 1.9 km long an average gradient of 6.6% but these lower gradients of this climb are 13 14 15 and even 16% in places yeah the first 350 400 meters are the steepest points and you’ve come straight off a really fast descent and you could tell that the riders knew that that was the danger point because it was in one long line and all of the protagonists that we expect to see fighting for the stage win they were right at the front and ready to attack the bottom of this climb um you know from the front of the pelaton and even you can see the damage at the back here jess Roberts a former national road race champion of the Great Britain national team is starting to struggle in the base of this climb likewise one of the riders from Hansling Alba Development this is Amy Gornel she’s an incredibly experienced rider but it just shows the damage that the the bottom and the base of this climb is doing yeah especially because it’s just come off that longer 6 km climb as well so you know Kristen Faulner spoke about accumulated fatigue and I think that the riders at the back are really feeling that langburn’s Bank is already starting to do the damage and it’s Kim Lort of AG and Shan Sudal in this white jersey who is in the commanding position she’s kicking things off and Anna Henderson’s trying to follow she’s attempting to try and follow the wheel kristen Forner the Olympic road race champion is there ma Lac with a head down of SD Works Pro time is really struggling to hold the wheel here as is Caroline Swinkles this is a a huge move and you can see the gradients in the back there on the road sign of 16% you can see the confidence with which Kim Lort just made that move she kind of glanced behind her saw that the Pelaton was in a long line and just looked like she just pushed on a little bit and it just completely split the Pelaton and uh so far only Kristen Falner and Ala Henderson have been able to go with her kim Lord another injection of pace from the Maitian champion in the white jersey ag and Shan Sudala making the debut here at the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women and right now it’s their rider their champion who is in a commanding position she’s putting everybody into the herd yeah you know we said uh that we thought that this climb could be the decisive moment of the race and Kim Lort’s really kind of making sure that that’s the case it’s going to be so difficult as well for the riders to come back after they get to the top of this climb because the road’s going to change direction which means the wind’s going to change and if these riders choose to push on then the gaps that we’re seeing forming now will only go out you’ve got an Olympic champion who is struggling to hold the wheel you’ve got an Olympic medalist who right now is about to be ejected from this trio here this is incredible stuff from Kim Laort it’s her first race back don’t forget after winning Lege Baston on Leia at the end of April and she’s coming to the 2025 season with the form of her life the maturity with which she’s racing and has been racing all season is incredible and you know she she got a late opportunity she said that she thought she could win races and she’s just proving that she was correct and repaying people’s faith in her for giving her the opportunity this year she certainly is the rider who right now is 29 years of age is showing that age is anything but a number she’s able to win she’s got that experience she’s got the tactical knowledge she knows how to read a race but you’ve got to have the legs to do something and Kim Lort certainly has the legs because right now the USA national champion Olympic road race champion is saying and waving goodbye to Lort it’ll be interesting to see what she does when she gets to the top of this climb because there’s not you know a really long way to go but it’s substantial and if Kim Lort’s by herself then you know there are lots of riders behind who could potentially chase her so will she sit up will she wait for a companion will she allow Kristen Faulner to join her and then the two of them could work together and it will give them a much greater chance of making it to the finish of this stage here is one of the young Spanish riders this is La Ruith Pereth the 20-year-old rider from Mauiar who’s starting to struggle to hold on to the back of this chasing group here the fact that Anna Henderson of Little Trek is also being swallowed up by that chasing group perhaps lends itself and would be better for Little Trek the fact that they can do the chasing here yeah absolutely they’ll then have numbers you know they they’ve come to this race with five riders but five very strong riders and I’m not sure how many of them are currently left in that group but you’d imagine quite a few over the top of Langburn’s Bank it’s Kim Lort who takes maximum points she takes the six it’s Kristen Forner who takes the five but she still is persistent she still continues to ride kristen Forner however she’s a rider who can ride within herself you can see she’s got a real fluid style a good pedaling style she never looks labored over the top you’ve got UADQ picking up some points in the Queen of the Mountains also Maui Star it’s so labored isn’t it over the top of this climb I think we can just see how much uh how much the stage is kind of taking a toll on the riders how you know truly attritional it’s been because riders that we would maybe expect to be there are struggling number 45 here this is Mira Canavaran the young Dutch rider from EF Education only in the pink jersey she’s fighting to get onto her wheel there we get the results of Langburn’s Bank it’s Lord who takes the six Forner taking the five Swinkles taking the four for UAE team ADQ or Bianic taking three with Marcus taking two points and Sicilig picking up the sole remaining point you can see how the road has changed direction here and uh these gaps that have that have formed are just stretching as as riders are going to really struggle while the wind becomes quite a strong crosswind now and as we mentioned it’s so exposed so open there’s no hedros and there’s nowhere to hide riders are scattered all over the North York malls here just seeing Sophia Berto who was struggling off the back but meanwhile Kristen Forner’s closed the gap to Kim Lord a slight Slight downhill here as you go into the exposed land and it’s going to be two riders who are at the front of this race on stage one of the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women coming into the one and only intermediate sprint it was Kim Lord who took the three bonus seconds and the 10 points in the classification ahead of her breakaway companion Kristen Fogner behind it was still Maui Star with Fletcher Makai and Orban Q were doing all of the chasing along with FDJ Suez and going for the final bonus seconds and the points it was Caroline Swinkles and Cat Ferguson with a late surge trying to challenge they were working well together as they headed towards our finish in red car the results of that intermediate sprint lort taking the 10 points forner with seven Swinkles taking five ferguson taking three with Lynette taking the one remaining point still behind they were chasing ferociously the maximum time gap was 33 seconds despite their strong performance out front the gap coming down to 20 seconds and it was Kristen Forner the Olympic champion who almost came across and managing to save it she got herself back underway it was a breakaway companion Lort who started to wait inside the final 10 km forner and Lort still had their advantage but there was no time to rest on the laurels no and it was definitely beneficial of Kim Lort to just wait for Kristen Falner just to get back in touch after that near miss in that right hand bend because obviously the two of them have been working well together so far and that gives them the best chance to stay away uh from these chasers behind when you take a look at the composition of this chasing group it’s Bianique and Flocha Makai of Mistar in the white and blue jerseys doing a lot of the work with the French team of FJ Sewer as you can see Alli Woolston is there but Legal Trek they’ve got four riders represented and so far they haven’t committed a rider what do you think if you’re the sports director would you be saying they should give a rider or two to help out in this chase it’s really interesting to see actually because as you said we’ve only seen those two teams of Mastar and FDJ Suez having riders on the front and doing the work to try and close this gap and to be honest um you know Little Track have four riders there so they have the numbers to be able to contribute but I guess the question is do they try and save some energy reserve some kind of resources for the next few days and bank on the fact that the gap will be either reduced to nothing or at least small enough that you know it’s not going to be a big obstac obstacle in terms of the general classification but it is a risk a big risk indeed because they’re banking on the fact that it’s two of the teams who are doing the chase and it’s yo-yoing between 20 seconds and 25 seconds to our leading duo out in that breakaway taking a look at this helicopter shot you can see the one and only rider of Canyon Strams on Crypto well she’s got a teammate there actually Sicilia Chub Ludvig she’s got Zoe Backstead for company and I also just spotted a glance of Lorena Weebis the European champion of SD Works Pro yeah I think that’s the other consideration here because you know Little Trek know that if they take Lorena Vibbas to the finish and they manage to catch these two riders out front Vibbas is almost certainly going to win the stage because she is the fastest woman in this group so do Little Trek commit resources commit energy basically to not win the stage or do they let other teams who at the moment seem quite happy to take up that workload do they allow those teams to use their energy the Great Britain national team have Millie Cousins she’s the rider around halfway down this chasing group in the white jersey also here is one of the riders from Livula Jacob that’s Quinty Ton watch out for one of the riders from Picnic Posanel that’s Megan Jastra she’s got a really strong finish on her there they see the gap 1 minute 22 the Pelaton but the chasing group behind which is led by Mist RNF DJ Suez still around 24 seconds it’s been hovering around that for a long time now now I think the maximum gap was around 30 seconds and then after that intermediate sprint where Cat Ferguson managed to just get get that final remaining uh point um she like at that point the gap closed to about 16 seconds and then it’s gone back out again and it’s not really changed very much since it’s it’s been around 20 seconds the whole time at the back of the group on the far right hand side in the red and blue jersey you can see Sarah Vanam she’s the only rider there for Sarah Tisit Pro Cycling she’s waiting and hoping that things will all come back together she’s got a very fast finish on her but still they’re fully committed the Polish champion is still there dominica Vladek of UAE team ADQ she’s got Caroline Swinkles in the group as well but the strongest team in terms of the numerical advantage our lead track but they’re banking on the fact that the two teams who have been doing all of the work are going to close this gap all back together to our leading duo i think at this point you know FDJ Suez and Mistar have both committed to doing the work to to close this gap you know they’re not going to have worked so hard for so long to now sit up and say you know what um we’re not going to do it anymore they they’ve kind of made that decision but you know they’re they’re not really getting it below 20 seconds at all and you can just see that gap on the road is just remaining from the helicopter shot they they can probably just about see the riders ahead they can see the ve some of the vehicles around those riders ahead but they’re just not able to make any headway at the moment when you’re in this situation and you’ve got the wind in your favor and you’re a leading duo it works to your advantage you’re certainly not out of sight out of mind but for the chase behind it’s incredibly difficult you don’t see that that carrot in front of you to to chase exactly so at the moment you know they’ve got this slight tailwind um so both groups are going quite quickly and and that means that um it it’s more difficult to cut into that advantage because the overall speeds are higher it would be a lot easier if they were riding into a headwind to be honest um they will change direction for the final two kilometers um they’ll they’ll go to having quite a strong crosswind and it’ll be interesting to see whether the situation changes at all at that point absolutely well the tailwind is advantageous to the breakaway duo you can see how fast it is in that chasing group it’s all stretched out in one long line and still they’re fully committed alli Wiston is there the rider from New Zealand for FDJ Sewer she’s waiting and ready to sprint cat Ferguson is the young British rider for Moistar she wants to try and come into this race and take a podium on one stage that’s the big aim that’s the big goal for the team let’s see if they can bring things back together and bring things back to heal they clearly believe in Cat Ferguson and her ability because they put in a lot of effort to try and close that gap to put her in the position to contest for that podium spot you’ve got to say and you’ve got to do capture these two riders in the breakaway the way that they’ve been able to hold off such a ferocious chase behind and indeed at times gain back time despite a few little mishaps along the way but between Kim Laort and Kristen Forner they’re fully dedicated they’ve got that cohesion between them both exactly i think they both realize that you know if they start kind of looking at each other and thinking about trying to better the other one for the stage win then actually what’s going to happen is they’ll both lose out they’ll you know they’ll be caught and then most likely Lorena Veeas will catch them one last little drink for Kristen Forner the Olympic champion through 4 km to go this now is a team pursuit type of effort here 4,000 m remaining she’s not just the Olympic champion on the road but she’s the Olympic champion in the team pursuit as well the rider in that blue jersey just look at the turn of speed look at the turn of power yeah it’s definitely a bit different doing a pursuit at the end of you know another kind of 77 km of racing but absolutely she’s um she’s going to know what lies ahead of her she’s got 2 km or 1 and a half km with this tailwind and then 2 and 1/2 to go along the seafront with that crosswind um and at the moment I think it’s looking likely that these two are going to stay away it’s touch and go isn’t it when you see a time gap right now of of 20 seconds and you’re inside the final four kilometers it really is it’s nailbiting yeah it it would it’s difficult to know how fresh some of the riders in this chase group are i mean to be honest to me it looks like everyone’s working really hard potentially if the little trek uh riders the four of them committed to try and bring it back then maybe they they would make some inroads but I don’t think at this point they’re going to i think they’re kind of you know relying on the work being done by others through 3 km remaining 3,000 m and they’re going to make that left hand turn take a look at those flags up ahead the wind is picking up and it’s very strong the wind coming onto the left hand side they’ve got the sea on the right hand side yeah so the advantageous line here is actually going to be that right hand side where Kim Lort was just riding because every time she’s on the right hand side she’s getting that little bit of shelter from Kristen Falner on her left a little bit of slowing behind as Moistar take back over the chase behind still Fletcher Makai still the French woman orbani despite the strength and the experience of that duo from Mauiar they’ve not been able to do anything about this duo out front but now Amber Crack the Dutch woman for FDJ Sue is in the blue and red jersey now comes to the front she you can just see the way that she’s riding half road she’s protecting the riders on her right hand side and just sheltering them from the wind yeah exactly you know they’re riding in that kind of echelon formation so the rider at the front is is positioned more over to the left and it’s just allowing the riders behind her to get that little bit of shelter so that hopefully they have a bit more energy left to kind of take their turn when they get their chance 2,000 m remain through that 2 km banner and still they ferociously chase a little bit of discussion going there you can see the former world champion Lizzy Dyen just shouting to her teammate Rihanna Marcus they still believe it could be possible could they try and steal a march here you can see their rider Anna Henderson is waiting patiently and getting herself tucked in so is Caroline Swinkles in that white jersey who’s well protected look at the way she’s poised and ready alli Wist is ready to sprint don’t forget she’s got a brilliant turn of speed on her she’s been a world champion on the track in the past you can see how well Lena Vibas is hidden in fact by the fact that you can barely see her at all i just keep seeing little flashes of her helmet so she’s positioning herself really really well ready for a sprint look at the way that the Mitian champion Kim Lort in the white jersey is just taking as much shelter as possible from Kristen Forner ordani flicks the elbow gives that international sign that she’s swinging off and she wants a rider to come through up ahead they’ve got the Flam Rouge in their sides 1,000 meters will remain it’s going to be Forner who leads this breakaway duo through can Kim Lor try and outsmart the Olympic road race champion Kristen Forner or will they start to look at each other play cat and mouse will these riders here behind come back into the frame of things if they do start looking at each other they can’t afford to do it for long because any hesitation and that group behind are going to pounce well they’re not giving up behind lizzy Den is trying to help Anna Henderson right now megan Jastra on the far left side in the indigo and orange jersey is getting herself set look at the way that Ali Wist is telling her teammate Amber Crack to get over and give her some shelter shelter her from the wind but meanwhile out front they’ve still got the gap they’ve still got the advantage and look at the speed that they’re starting to travel at kim Lord still taking the shelter on the right hand side through 300 m to go behind is Ali Wston who’s wanting to try and go early she believes that she could sprint long but now he starts to open up kim Lort goes in the wide jersey look at the way that the Olympic road race champion Fortn is trying to challenge but it’s Lord who’s got the advantage lort has half a bike length well she’s going to be able to take stage one or is she oh there she takes it kim Lord wins stage one into red core of the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women behind is the European champion Lena Weebas who takes third forner settles for second what a performance that was incredible fortune favors the brave absolutely and you can see um you can see Kim Lort and Kristen Falner just you know have congratulating each other and they worked so well together it was such a mature ride from both of them take us through this because for Kim Lort she goes to the right hand side and it’s Lort in the white who opens things up yeah she did and she never surrendered that right hand side of the road actually in the whole of those final few kilometers she always just you know stayed the right hand side uh of Falner which just gave her that little bit of kind of extra protection from the wind and you know they’ve both been out there for a really long time so just any bit of energy saving that you can get is going to help you absolute delight for the team of AG and Shaw and Sudal team big hugs from Glattis Pulse Wild well the stage winner with no doubt Laort so Kim Lort wins from Kristen Faulner with a chasing group led by Lorenna Weez 5 seconds back linda Zenetti came in fourth and Cat Ferguson was fifth kim Lort is the winner of the first stage of this year’s tour i think we were still very determined to work together till the line um we worked until literally we were passing relays in the last kilometer even so there was no looking back for for us both it was also GC into into the hands and going into tomorrow with more seconds than the bunch behind so yeah it was just about who has the fastest kick and I was trying to when I kicked I knew the wind was coming from the right so I made sure I stayed on the right of the barriers and that she couldn’t come past and if she did then she has the full wind so yeah tried to play it a bit smart and it worked out she was back on the podium in the point Jersey and the rider from Maitius also leads the Queen of the Mountains competition best young rider is Moby Stars Cat Ferguson definitely the the most enjoyable race I’ve done this year um really hard it was only 80k so around 2 hours um it’s definitely one of the the more intense races I’ve done and it feels a little bit like I’m back being a junior again um so for me it was yeah really enjoyable um and to race on on roads that are very similar to to my training roads which I’ve grown up on was really special and the first wearer of the 2025 race leaders green jersey is Kim Lort because of time bonuses for the first three riders across the finish Lort’s lead over Christristen Falner is 5 seconds lorena Weebezz is third at 14 seconds then comes Caroline Swinkles at 17 and a group of riders at 18 seconds stage one certainly produced a dramatic finish make sure you join us tomorrow for some more spectacular racing from the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain women [Music]