Cat Ferguson sprinted to victory on stage three of the Tour of Britain Women in Kelso on Saturday, taking the race lead in the process, with one day to go.
It is the 19-year-old's first Women's WorldTour win in her first season as a professional, and followed a brutal day which saw multiple significant crashes, including for the previous race leader, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who finished over three minutes down.
Ferguson of Movistar was attentive to the decisive selection with 25km to go, then stuck with the group of five to the finish. In the final 300 metres of the day Ferguson launched her sprint, with Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) following in second, with Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) in third.
The move had been created after an attack by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), but an ill-timed mechanical meant that the group of six became five on the way back to Kelso.
On a rain-soaked stage, multiple riders were forced to abandon, including previous race leader Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime).
A significant crash with 56km to go saw Faulkner hit the deck, along with stage two winner Mara Roldan (Picnic PostNL) and around 10 others; Faulkner would crash again with 34km to go to rule her out of the general classification.
Ahead of a final day city-centre criterium in Glasgow, Ferguson leads Wollaston by three seconds, meaning it could all come down to bonus seconds in the final sprint. Ferguson now also controls the points competition, and the young rider's contest too.
“I’m so over the moon. I think this is one of the races I was most excited to do this season. I wanted to show Britain how good I can be and I think I did that,” Ferguson said post-stage. "There were really tough conditions and lots of crashes and misfortune, but I lucky to get in winning move and we worked well.
"I knew if could get in good position for the final corner, then I could win. It was better to be second wheel and then launch before the cobbles, because if you lose momentum on the cobbles, it’s hard to get it back."
How it happened
The longest stage of the 2025 Tour of Britain Women looked set to be decisive in the battle for the overall win, with lumpy roads and tough weather on the menu for the riders left in the race.
Starting and finish in the Scottish town of Kelso, close to the border with England, there were five classified climbs, which while punchy, had the potential to shake up the race.
A couple of early attacks in the 143km-long race came to little, with no break established. The first QOM points on offer, at the top of Scott's View, were swept up by Dominika Włodarczyk (UEAE Team ADQ).
FDJ-Suez, Lidl-Trek and Movistar were the most visible teams, attempting to make the race hard and also exert an element of control. An early bike change for leader Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) set the tone for a disappointing day for the American national champion.
The second QOM of the day, on Dingleton, was won by Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez), as stage two winner Mara Roldan (Picnic-PostNL) rose to the virtual lead of that competiton.
With 90km to go, the heavens opened, with rain marking the rest of the day. Włodarczyk won the third QOM of the day, on Dunion Hill.
A huge crash caused by the weather on an innocuous bend at 56km to go saw around 11 riders hit the ground, including Włodarczyk, Roldan and Faulkner. Roldan and Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) were forced to abandon after the incident. Lorena Wiebes, Guarischi's teammate, was also caught up in the incident, and crashed again with 45km to go.
Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) won the intermediate sprint in Kelso, the first time the race passed the finish line, taking bonus seconds in the process, followed by Cat Ferguson (Movistar).
Faulkner was caught up in a second crash with 34km to go, along with Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike), among others. This resulted in a mechanical which saw the American distanced conclusively.
The second time up Scott's View, Fauve Bastiaenssen (AG Insurance-Soudal) won the sprint, with Kraak following in behind.
On the final time up the Dingleton climb, with around 25km to go, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) attacked, followed by Ferguson. The pair were joined by Eleonora Gasparrini and Karlijn Swinkels (both UAE Team ADQ), Wollaston, and Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL). Ferguson was the first to the top of Dingleton.
What was left of the peloton before was led by Liv AlUla Jayco and Lidl-Trek, hoping to salvage their GC positions. An unfortunately timed mechanical issue for Uttrup Ludwig saw the Dane dropped from the lead group.
The quintet up front would not be seen again, as they worked together to build their advantage. UAE Team ADQ through Swinkels and Gasparrini attempted to use their numerical advantage in the final 3km, but it was to come down to a final sprint.
As rain poured in Kelso, Ferguson launched her sprint with 300m to go, and was not caught, despite the best efforts of Nelson and Wollaston. Faulkner, meanwhile, finished in a group 3:14 behind.
Results
Tour of Britain Women 2025 stage three: Kelso > Kelso (143.8km)
1. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, in 3:42:37
2. Josie Nelson (GBr) Picnic PostNL
3. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez
4. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
5. Eleonora Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +3s
6. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain, +38s
7. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
8. Imogen Wolff (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
9. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT
10. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Picnic-PostNL, all at same time
General classification after stage three
1. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, in 8:39:32
2. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez, +3s
3. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, +12s
4. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +40s
5. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT, +52s
6. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL
7. Cecille Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, both at same time
8. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, +56s
9. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, at same time
10. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain, +59s
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