There are a few Black Mountains in Wales (and one in Belfast too), but the one climbed today at the Women’s Tour, in the west of the Brecon Beacons near Llangadog, belongs to Italy.
On what was only the second hilltop finish in the race’s history, Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini proved the strongest of a select group after a flurry of attacks on the windswept 7.2 kilometre climb which decided this year’s queen stage.
The Trek-Segafredo rider beat Kasia Niewiadoma (who managed to overcome what appeared to be a late mechanical problem in the closing kilometres) and race leader Grace Brown in a reshuffle of yesterday’s stage to draw level with the Australian at the top of the GC, setting things up nicely for an intriguing final run-in to Oxford tomorrow.
As a number of riders, including Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Riejanne Markus, Joss Lowden and Longo Borghini herself, attacked relentlessly on the final climb, the in-form Brown looked in control.
But when American BikeExchange-Jayco rider Kristen Faulkner surged within the final kilometre, cracks began to show in the seemingly impenetrable Australian’s armour.
However, despite being slightly baulked by Faulkner as Longo Borghini launched her sprint, Brown dug deep to retain the overall lead.
But with only two seconds separating Brown, Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma, there’s still all to play for on the roads around Oxford. Which I’m sure will make the organisers, if not the riders, rub their hands with glee.
Meanwhile at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Valentin Ferron gave the slip to his dithering breakaway companions with a perfectly timed attack within the closing 1.5 kilometres to win into Gap, one of the Tour de France’s iconic finish towns (and one of the most infuriating, if you’re a journalist stuck in one of its famous traffic jams).
24-year-old Ferron – perhaps the least heralded of the strong six-man group that included Pierre Rolland, Warren Barguil and Andrea Bagioli – showcased both strength and an impressive tactical acumen to take the first win of his young career and the second of the race for his TotalEnergies team after Alexis Vuillermoz’s breakaway win on stage two.
Thirty seconds behind, yellow jersey Wout van Aert cruised home in twelfth, his joint-third lowest result of 2022. Tut tut.
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Road.cc reports that the race has reportedly been confirmed.
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