Hannah Barnes was our top placed rider in yesterday’s final stage of the ASDA Tour de Yorkshire in the UK. After sprinting to 13th place on stage one, the British rider placed 8th in the stage from Bridlington to Scarborough. 

In sub-five degrees with wind gusts over 50km/hour, rain, and hail, the 131.2km stage was a tough affair. We made several attempts to be part of the early breakaway efforts with a solo break from Alice Barnes gaining the most advantage. The breakaways were constantly reeled in, and it came to the Côte de Lythe Bank climb where the main split happened with Hannah Barnes making the front group.

Barnes later made it to a three-rider group that were chasing a leading trio, but when they were unable to bridge the gap, the leaders of Marianne Vos (CCC), Mavi Garcia (MOV) and Soraya Paladin (ALE) went on to secure the top places for both the stage and the general classification. 

Read the reactions from each of the riders below.

Hannah Barnes

“I was quite disappointed after Friday’s stage one when I finished 13th in the sprint. Christa and Alice did an incredible lead out for me, even though for a bunch sprint Alice could have put her hand up to go for it too. So, when I couldn’t finish it off, I felt like I let the team and especially Alice down. However, I was really pleased to have been given the opportunity and committed to it fully.”

“Yesterday was a much better race for me. The first 30km I didn’t feel great but as the race went on and the weather got worse I seemed to get better. I struggled in the final 5km which meant I missed the chance to go for fourth place, but overall I was pleased with how I raced. I didn’t hesitate when the split happened in the cross wind section and I was pleased I could stay with the leaders over the next two QOM climbs.”

Alice Barnes

“I am fairly happy with my tour. It was nice for me to be able to ride for Hannah and for her to realise that she needs to put some focus into her sprint. Obviously it would have been nice to be able to try for myself but this was a good situation and a nice environment for her to be able to try this.”

“In stage 2 it was a shame that my attack didn’t pull off. It was always going to be difficult with a head wind but not impossible. It was just that everyone wanted to be involved. I had a second wind when we hit the tail wind and used my road knowledge to try and get back on the descent into the steep Grosmont climb. I actually got back to the group that ended up racing for 4th going but wasn’t able to hold it on the final long climb. I was happy I didn’t give up, that I fought to get back and then saw that I did make it back to the leading group.” 

Hannah Ludwig

“I think my Tour de Yorkshire went quite okay. They were two super hard days because of the weather conditions, especially yesterday’s stage two. It was a hard course, it was super cold, and I have to say it was the strongest wind I have ever felt on the bike! I learned a lot and hope to improve on that.”

Christa Riffel

“I was really happy to be racing again, though going into the race I had to admit I was unsure about my current level because I had four weeks off racing after my crash at Healthy Ageing Tour.”

“On the first stage with the less steep climbs I could contribute to team which made me happy.”

“The second stage was really hard for me, especially the steep climbs and the strong wind. After the second QOM (the first climb was neutralised due to a traffic incident) the peloton split and from then on it was really hard all the way to the finish. With a super strong headwind in the last kilometre you could feel how hard the day was and how little energy was left in the end.”

Tanja Erath   

“I was really happy to be on the roster for the Tour de Yorkshire again, since I really enjoyed the stages and the atmosphere last year.”

“This year, the tour was completely different with tough weather conditions and hilly stage profiles making both stages really challenging and hard. The organisation of the race, the crowds, and two days of good racing helped to make up for the pain!”

“As a team we rode really strong and well together. Especially in stage 2 we were present in almost every move and Alice created one of the most dangerous ones.”

“Unfortunately, we weren’t rewarded with a podium or win, but we all go home with the good feeling that we are strong and worked well together. I’m confident that the good things will happen in the upcoming stage races.”

Ella Harris   

“The tour was okay for me after my first race back since breaking my collarbone in Healthy Ageing Tour last month. The first stage went well but I am really disappointed with the second and the thought of how much better I could have done.”

“I was pleased to be able to find myself in a break with other strong teams represented, but it was brought back after only a couple of kilometres. I was forced off the road on a technical descent leading into the first climb by a rider slipping out, which meant I never had the chance to try and stick with the front selection where we needed another rider. I had felt like I was climbing quite well so that’s a missed chance.”

“I had some increasing knee pain in the stage and although I pushed through it initially, I wasn’t able to race how I wanted to once it worsened so that was really gutting. It was nice to be back racing however, and there were certainly still some positives in terms of form and experience that I can take from it even if some aspects didn’t exactly go in my favour.”

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