Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike
Results and pictures from Round 2 of the British Cycling Women’s National Road Series, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike
The Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike was won by Robyn Clay from a break of five that formed with four laps to go. The early parts of the race had seen minor crashes as the large bunch hit the bottom of the Michaelgate climb at speed. Finally Robyn Clay (Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee), Grace Lister and Sammie Stuart (DAS-Handsling), Heather Mayer (Hutchinson – Brother) and Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne (Team Boompods) got away.
The break had a lead of thirty seconds with three laps to go, this grew as DAS-Handsling worked to prevent any meaningful chase developing. As the bell rang for the final lap the gap had grown to 1’50” and the bunch was in no state to bring them back. Clay attacked up the Michaelgate, to take the win, with Hodgkins-Byrne second at six seconds and Sammie Stuart another eight seconds back.
Sammie Stuart
Speaking to Sammie she said that the start was “quite calm” with a few attacks, but none that stuck. She finally got away on the descent after a couple of attempts, with help from her team. She was then joined by team-mate Lister, Clay, Mayer and Hodgkins-Byrne. Sammie said they all “worked really well to stay away.” The bunch closed to 20 seconds at one point “but we managed to escape the peloton’s view”! When it came to the finish she admitted that with two riders in the break they could have played it better, but she was happy with a podium finish. When I asked how she found riding on the cobbles, Sammie said that she “tried to hug the gutters after realising I wasn’t good at cobbles in Belgium”!
Monica Greenwood of DAS-Handsling took the overall leaders jersey in the British Cycling Women’s National Road Series competition, after a strong performance from the team. Read our report on the first round of the Women’s National Road Series