'Perfect teamwork today' – Lorena Wiebes storms to Tour of Britain Women stage 1 win after hectic day
Dutch sprinter takes eighth stage at British race in five editions
Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory at the end of a tough Lloyds Tour of Britain Women stage one in Cockermouth after a chaotic finale.
Her SD Worx-Protime team were active throughout Wednesday's opening stage, ensuring that their star woman was in the right place to win at the end. It was not the enormous margin of victory that Wiebes is normally used to, but it was still a dominant victory ahead of Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM) and Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL).
Multiple attacks in the last 40km of the day briefly looked to break what was left of the peloton up, but nothing stuck, with Wiebes being present at the end to take her eighth Tour of Britain stage. SD Worx were in control, with five riders in the bunch of 32 which made it to the line.
Having won the stage, Wiebes went into the green leader's jersey, four seconds ahead of Consonni, thanks to bonus seconds, with Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team L'IMAD) in third, a second further back, due to bonus seconds picked up earlier in the day.
"Lotte [Kopecky] brought Mischa [Bredewold] and me perfectly into the final corner with around 500 metres to go," Wiebes said post-race. "Mischa then kept the speed high, and with 200 metres remaining I was able to launch my sprint. It was executed really well.
"It’s a really nice way to start the Tour of Britain, especially compared to last year. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going over the next few days."
Her sports director Christian Kos said: "Perfect teamwork today, and we’re very happy with the result. A great start to the Tour of Britain."
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How it happened
A flurry of attacks kickstarted the day, but the bunch was kept together for the early intermediate sprint, where bonus seconds were taken by Karlijn Swinkels and Lara Gillespie (UAE Team L’IMAD) and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal).
An attack from Handsling Alba Development’s Arabella Rosalie Blackburn was followed by Audrey De Keersmaeker (Picnic PostNL) to establish the day’s break. Blackburn was caught with 56km to go, while De Keersmaeker remained out front.
With 36km to go on Parsonby Brow, the peloton approached De Keersmaeker but the group was strung out, potentially distancing some. The last rider in the breakaway was caught just over the top of the climb. Le Court-Pienaar was a regular presence at the front of the race, but Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) still refused to be dropped.
The attacks did not stop coming in the final 16km, with Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) and Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-Zuez) trading blows in an attempt to break the race up. Next was Kate Courtney (FDJ United SUEZ), but there was not quite enough in the course to cause defined selections.
A group of four escaped with 13km to go, formed of the SD Worx-Protime duo of Mischa Bredewold and Steffi Häberlin, with Aude Biannic (Movistar) and Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek). However, this was quickly shut down, with Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Le Court-Pienaar starting the next move. A group of around 10 briefly separated off the front but what was left of the peloton reeled them in once again, with 9.4km to go.
With 2km to go, what was left of the bunch was all together, read for a mass sprint in Cockermouth, with SD Worx in control on the descent into the town. Georgi was present to help her teammate Josie Nelson, but nothing could stop the SD Worx surge, with Wiebes predictably prevailing.
Results
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women 2026 stage one: Cockermouth > Cockermouth
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 4:03:09
2. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM
3. Josie Nelson (GBr) Picnic PostNL
4. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
5. Caroline Andersson (Swe) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Letizia Borghesi (Ita) AG Insurance-Soudal
7. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team L'Imad
8. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar
9. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
10. Fleur Moors (Bel) Lidl-Trek, all at same time
General classification after stage one
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 4:02:59
2. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM, +4s
3. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team L'Imad, +5s
4. Josie Nelson (GBr) Picnic PostNL, +6s
5. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +7s
6. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (Mau) AG Insurance-Soudal, +8s
7. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, +10s
8. Caroline Andersson (Swe) Liv AlUla Jayco
9. Letizia Borghesi (Ita) AG Insurance-Soudal
10. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar, all at same time
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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