Words by Owen Rogers
Repeated and concerted attacks from Britain’s Emma Pooley earned her plaudits and the day’s combativity award in Saturday's penultimate stage of the Friends Life Women's Tour.
Having initially attacked after the first classified climb, she was away for the majority of the undulating 87-kilometre stage.
At first the former world time trial champion rode on her own but was joined by others in two other notable moves that gained an advantage over the peloton.
“I was in all the breaks, when I was on my own the cooperation was really good!” she joked. “With Lisa Brennauer [Specialized-Lululemon] we were both working hard, but we were caught by a bigger group and it didn’t happen.
“When the peloton caught us another group of six of us went and we were all working except for Annamiek [Van Vleuten] from Rabo-Liv. No one expected her to work because Marianne [Vos, her team-mate] is in yellow, but the five of us worked pretty well. I think we knew were were likely to get caught, but that’s part of bike racing, it happens.
“I’ve tried to be aggressive every day. I tried yesterday, but maybe today suited small breaks and attacks better because of the narrow lanes and the up and down nature of the course.
“Obviously I'm not doing very well in the race in terms of results, but for me you can still use a race to get better, or as training. It’s hard work when you’re off the back and it’s hard work if you're off the front, but being off the front is definitely better mentally.”
The 31-year-old is targeting the Giro d’Italia at the beginning of July, but admitted: “I need to get some racing under my belt, I know I don’t feel quite up there yet.”
Her next races will be in Spain, the one day Durango-Durango followed by the four-stage Emakumeen Euskal Bira, both in northern Spain. The latter of which she described as “a bit bumpier [than the Women's Tour], but the same weather."
Sunday's final stage of the race finishes in Bury St Edmunds, an hour away from Norwich, where Pooley grew up as a child.
Credit: Andy Jones
Marianne Vos wins Women's Tour stage four
Race leader Marianne Vos increases her advantage at the top of the overall classification with a second stage win
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
-
Tweets of the week: A wholesome Women's Tour edition full of schoolchildren, dancing, and ShrekThe Women's WorldTour comes to England and Wales, and encounters some good things
-
Grace Brown takes the stage win after a stunning stage four at the Women’s Tour
The Australian proved too powerful in the closing stages as she sprinted to victory in Welshpool
-
Lorena Wiebes secures another convincing Women's Tour victory with stage three win
The Team DSM rider powered away from the rest of the field to take her second consecutive stage victory
-
Lotto-Soudal sign former Qhuebka-NextHash pair until end of season
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Carlos Barbero will join Lotto-Soudal for the remainder of 2022
-
Women's Tour organiser seeking title partner to deliver live coverage of event
SweetSpot is hoping to raise £75,000 from a sponsor so it can broadcast the race live and adhere to UCI rules
-
What did we learn from the first elite road races of the year?
Alejandro Valverde is still good; Lotto-Soudal are hungry for results; Biniam Girmay might be a force to be reckoned with
-
Philippe Gilbert to target results in big races - not 'easy wins' - in his final year
The Belgian former world champion says that he won't chase easy wins after 20 years in the pro peloton
-
Life through a lens on the Women's Tour
Writer James Shrubsall swapped his pen and paper for a camera and joined Simon Wilkinson at the Women's Tour last year
