Women’s Tour: Clara Copponi wins crash-affected sprint on stage 1

Wiebes crashes in final kilometre, Bertizzolo and Cecchini complete podium.

Photo: Getty Images

Clara Copponi (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) sprinted to victory on stage 1 of the Women’s Tour after a crash in the finale took out several top sprinters.

On fast and technical finish in Bury St Edmunds, Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) crashed on the penultimate corner and allowed a reduced sprinting group to contest the finish, with Copponi coming out on top. Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) and Elena Cecchini (SD Worx) finished second and third.

After an incident ahead of the race, the peloton was stopped for almost an hour in the final 40km of road, but resumed and came back together for the expected sprint finish after lone leader Danielle Shrosbree (CAMS-Basso) was caught.

How it happened

It was a cold and wet morning in Colchester as the 97-rider peloton lined up for the first stage of the 2022 Women’s Tour on Monday. With a relatively flat 142km ahead before the finish line in Bury St Edmunds, the opening day of the six-stage race looked set to culminate in a bunch sprint.

There were plenty of incentives for potential breakways on the stage – two intermediate sprints and two climbs within the first 80km – but when the flag dropped, no early attacks came. Human Powered Health, Liv Racing Xstra and Jumbo-Visma were among the teams showing themselves on the front, but ultimately there were no real attempts to get away and the peloton stayed all together for the first hour of racing.

Approaching the first Queen of the Mountains point of the race, Canyon//SRAM’s Tiffany Cromwell led the peloton into the climb in support of last year’s classification winner Elise Chabbey, but it was a powerful sprint from Christine Majerus (SD Worx) that secured the maximum points.

Not long after the climb came the first intermediate sprint point. Ceratizit-WNT and Liv Racing Xstra organised themselves on the front of the peloton to lead out the sprint, but Maike van der Duin (Le Col-Wahoo) surfed their wheels and pipped Confalonieri (Ceratizit-WNT) and Jackson (Liv Racing Xstra) on the line. Despite there being points and bonus seconds available, Lorena Wiebes and her DSM team did not figure in the intermediate sprint.

After 50km of racing, some attacking began and strung out the previously compact peloton, but it proved difficult for any riders to get away. Ane Iversen (Team Coop-Hitec Products) made a move, but Alison Jackson and Georgia Williams (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) shut it down as the teams looked keen to keep things together for the next intermediate sprint.

Heading towards the second sprint in Hadleigh, it was again Le Col-Wahoo and Liv Racing Xstra who were leading the peloton, and Van der Duin repeated her earlier efforts to again take maximum points, beating Jackson into second.

At the base of the second categorised climb of the day, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) set the tempo, again in support of Chabbey, but again it was Majerus who put in an effort that no one could follow to claim the maximum points and secure the climbers’ jersey at the finish.

Over the top of the climb, Danielle Shrosbree (CAMS-Basso) launched an attack and with no one following the British rider, she pressed on solo and quickly established an advantage of 58 seconds.At the 93km completed mark, Shrosbree’s lead had gone out to over a minute and 40 seconds, prompting Team DSM to take control on the front of the peloton to limit the gap.

With around 35km to go, the race was stopped to allow emergency vehicles to attend an incident ahead of the race. The stoppage lasted for almost an hour, and saw riders climb into team cars to keep warm in the cold English weather. After over 50 minutes off their bikes, the race was restarted with a 1.5km neutralised roll out as Shrosbree’s gap was re-established. Heading towards an expected sprint finish, Shrosbree was steadily reeled in and caught with 13km remaining.

In the final 10km of racing, the sprint trains of Liv Racing Xstra, Trek-Segafredo and DSM began to up the pace in the run-in to Bury St Edmunds. In the final kilometre, the organised trains were disrupted by the tight and technical roads to the finish. Lorena Wiebes looked well-placed at the front, but slid out on the penultimate corner, taking Coryn Labecki (Jumbo-Visma), Barbara Guarischi (Movistar) and teammate Charlotte Kool down with her. From the reduced group of sprinters, Clara Copponi (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine) came round Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) in the closing metres to take the first stage win of the race.

General classification times were taken at the 3km to go mark, so Wiebes did not lose time, but bonus seconds were still available at the line and put Copponi in the leader’s jersey ahead of Bertizzolo, with Van der Duin in third after the bonus seconds she collected during the stage. Van der Duin leads the sprints classification, whilst Copponi took the points jersey after her win. Christine Majerus wears the green climbers’ jersey.

Tomorrow’s 96km loop starting and finishing in Harlow should present another opportunity for the sprinters, as RideLondon winner Wiebes looks to recover from her fall today.

Women's Tour Stage 1 Results

Stage
RankNameTeamTime
1COPPONI ClaraFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope3:40:15
2BERTIZZOLO SofiaUAE Team ADQ0:00
3CECCHINI ElenaTeam SD Worx0:00
4FIDANZA AriannaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
5WOOD AliceCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
6DUVAL EugénieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:00
7GÅSKJENN IngvildTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:00
8YSLAND Anne DortheUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
9BORGHESI LetiziaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
10VAN DER DUIN MaikeLe Col - Wahoo0:00
11HANSON LaurettaTrek - Segafredo0:00
12MAJERUS ChristineTeam SD Worx0:00
13JACKSON AlisonLiv Racing Xstra0:00
14RAAIJMAKERS MaritHuman Powered Health0:00
15BOSSUYT ShariCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
16SMITH AbiEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
17LE NET MarieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:00
18WILLIAMS LilyHuman Powered Health0:00
19GONZÁLEZ AliciaMovistar Team0:00
20FAHLIN EmiliaFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:00
21JØRGENSEN TirilTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:00
22LEWIS SophieCAMS - Basso0:00
23WRIGHT SophieUAE Team ADQ0:00
24VAN 'T GELOOF MarjoleinLe Col - Wahoo0:00
25TOMASI LauraUAE Team ADQ0:00
26BUIJSMAN NinaHuman Powered Health0:00
27GEORGI PfeifferTeam DSM0:00
28CROMWELL TiffanyCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
29TON QuintyLiv Racing Xstra0:00
30MOOLMAN AshleighTeam SD Worx0:00
31CONFALONIERI Maria GiuliaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
32NIEWIADOMA KatarzynaCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
33BOOGAARD MaaikeUAE Team ADQ0:00
34VANDENBULCKE JesseLe Col - Wahoo0:00
35LACH MartaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
36NEUMANOVA TerezaLiv Racing Xstra0:00
37SHROSBREE DanielleCAMS - Basso0:00
38STUART SammieCAMS - Basso0:00
39MOHR Mari HoleTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:00
40CHABBEY EliseCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
41KIRCHMANN LeahTeam DSM0:00
42CHRISTIE HenriettaHuman Powered Health0:00
43KASPER RomyTeam Jumbo-Visma0:00
44DE JONG ThalitaLiv Racing Xstra0:00
45KRÖGER MiekeHuman Powered Health0:00
46CAMPBELL TenielTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
47FOURNIER RoxaneTeam SD Worx0:00
48ERATH TanjaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
49VERHULST-WILD GladysLe Col - Wahoo0:00
50LUDWIG HannahUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
51ROBERTS JessicaTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:00
52MORROW BethCAMS - Basso0:00
53DOEBEL-HICKOK KristaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
54HOLDEN ElizabethLe Col - Wahoo0:00
55MANLY AlexandraTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
56HARVEY MikaylaCanyon//SRAM Racing0:00
57KUIJPERS EvyHuman Powered Health0:00
58SHAPIRA OmerEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
59BROWN GraceFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:00
60ASENCIO LauraCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
61KESSLER NinaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
62BUURMAN EvaLiv Racing Xstra0:00
63OTTESTAD Mie BjørndalUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
64BEEKHUIS TeuntjeTeam Jumbo-Visma0:00
65GROSSETÊTE MaëlleFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:00
66SCHWEINBERGER KathrinCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
67VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK ChantalTeam SD Worx0:00
68KOCH FranziskaTeam DSM0:00
69FAULKNER KristenTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
70PATUELLI AlessiaUAE Team ADQ0:00
71BRAUßE FranziskaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
72STORRIE BeckyCAMS - Basso0:00
73LONGO BORGHINI ElisaTrek - Segafredo0:00
74OYARBIDE LourdesMovistar Team0:00
75MARTÍN SaraMovistar Team0:00
76GUTIÉRREZ SheylaMovistar Team0:00
77NORMAN LETH JulieUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
78LOWDEN JoscelinUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
79VAN DIJK EllenTrek - Segafredo0:00
80EWERS VeronicaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
81WILLIAMS GeorgiaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
82BÄCKSTEDT ElynorTrek - Segafredo0:00
83CORDON-RAGOT AudreyTrek - Segafredo0:00
84HOSKING ChloeTrek - Segafredo0:00
85WIEBES LorenaTeam DSM0:00
86IVERSEN AneTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:00
87REUSSER MarlenTeam SD Worx0:00
88GUARISCHI BarbaraMovistar Team0:00
89SCOTT KatieCAMS - Basso0:25
90MARKUS RiejanneTeam Jumbo-Visma0:17
91JASTRAB MeganTeam DSM0:00
92KOOL CharlotteTeam DSM0:00
93SWINKELS KarlijnTeam Jumbo-Visma0:00
94LABECKI CorynTeam Jumbo-Visma0:00
95TACEY AprilLe Col - Wahoo1:02
96RODRÍGUEZ GloriaMovistar Team1:12
GC
RankNameTeamTime
1COPPONI ClaraFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope3:40:05
2BERTIZZOLO SofiaUAE Team ADQ0:04
3VAN DER DUIN MaikeLe Col - Wahoo0:04
4CECCHINI ElenaTeam SD Worx0:06
5JACKSON AlisonLiv Racing Xstra0:07
6CONFALONIERI Maria GiuliaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:08
7TOMASI LauraUAE Team ADQ0:09
8FIDANZA AriannaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
9WOOD AliceCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
10DUVAL EugénieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:10
11GÅSKJENN IngvildTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:10
12YSLAND Anne DortheUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:10
13BORGHESI LetiziaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
14HANSON LaurettaTrek - Segafredo0:10
15MAJERUS ChristineTeam SD Worx0:10
16RAAIJMAKERS MaritHuman Powered Health0:10
17BOSSUYT ShariCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
18SMITH AbiEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
19LE NET MarieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:10
20WILLIAMS LilyHuman Powered Health0:10
21GONZÁLEZ AliciaMovistar Team0:10
22FAHLIN EmiliaFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:10
23JØRGENSEN TirilTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:10
24LEWIS SophieCAMS - Basso0:10
25WRIGHT SophieUAE Team ADQ0:10
26VAN 'T GELOOF MarjoleinLe Col - Wahoo0:10
27BUIJSMAN NinaHuman Powered Health0:10
28GEORGI PfeifferTeam DSM0:10
29CROMWELL TiffanyCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
30TON QuintyLiv Racing Xstra0:10
31MOOLMAN AshleighTeam SD Worx0:10
32NIEWIADOMA KatarzynaCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
33BOOGAARD MaaikeUAE Team ADQ0:10
34VANDENBULCKE JesseLe Col - Wahoo0:10
35LACH MartaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:10
36NEUMANOVA TerezaLiv Racing Xstra0:10
37SHROSBREE DanielleCAMS - Basso0:10
38STUART SammieCAMS - Basso0:10
39MOHR Mari HoleTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:10
40CHABBEY EliseCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
41KIRCHMANN LeahTeam DSM0:10
42CHRISTIE HenriettaHuman Powered Health0:10
43KASPER RomyTeam Jumbo-Visma0:10
44DE JONG ThalitaLiv Racing Xstra0:10
45KRÖGER MiekeHuman Powered Health0:10
46CAMPBELL TenielTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
47FOURNIER RoxaneTeam SD Worx0:10
48ERATH TanjaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
49VERHULST-WILD GladysLe Col - Wahoo0:10
50LUDWIG HannahUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:10
51ROBERTS JessicaTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:10
52MORROW BethCAMS - Basso0:10
53DOEBEL-HICKOK KristaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
54HOLDEN ElizabethLe Col - Wahoo0:10
55MANLY AlexandraTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
56HARVEY MikaylaCanyon//SRAM Racing0:10
57KUIJPERS EvyHuman Powered Health0:10
58SHAPIRA OmerEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
59BROWN GraceFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:10
60ASENCIO LauraCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:10
61KESSLER NinaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
62BUURMAN EvaLiv Racing Xstra0:10
63OTTESTAD Mie BjørndalUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:10
64BEEKHUIS TeuntjeTeam Jumbo-Visma0:10
65GROSSETÊTE MaëlleFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope0:10
66SCHWEINBERGER KathrinCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:10
67VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK ChantalTeam SD Worx0:10
68KOCH FranziskaTeam DSM0:10
69FAULKNER KristenTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
70PATUELLI AlessiaUAE Team ADQ0:10
71BRAUßE FranziskaCeratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:10
72STORRIE BeckyCAMS - Basso0:10
73LONGO BORGHINI ElisaTrek - Segafredo0:10
74OYARBIDE LourdesMovistar Team0:10
75MARTÍN SaraMovistar Team0:10
76GUTIÉRREZ SheylaMovistar Team0:10
77NORMAN LETH JulieUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:10
78LOWDEN JoscelinUno-X Pro Cycling Team0:10
79VAN DIJK EllenTrek - Segafredo0:10
80EWERS VeronicaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:10
81WILLIAMS GeorgiaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:10
82BÄCKSTEDT ElynorTrek - Segafredo0:10
83CORDON-RAGOT AudreyTrek - Segafredo0:10
84HOSKING ChloeTrek - Segafredo0:10
85WIEBES LorenaTeam DSM0:10
86IVERSEN AneTeam Coop - Hitec Products0:10
87REUSSER MarlenTeam SD Worx0:10
88GUARISCHI BarbaraMovistar Team0:10
89JASTRAB MeganTeam DSM0:10
90KOOL CharlotteTeam DSM0:10
91SWINKELS KarlijnTeam Jumbo-Visma0:10
92LABECKI CorynTeam Jumbo-Visma0:10
93MARKUS RiejanneTeam Jumbo-Visma0:27
94SCOTT KatieCAMS - Basso0:35
95TACEY AprilLe Col - Wahoo1:12
96RODRÍGUEZ GloriaMovistar Team1:22
Points
RankNameTeamPoints
1COPPONI ClaraFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope15
2BERTIZZOLO SofiaUAE Team ADQ12
3CECCHINI ElenaTeam SD Worx9
4FIDANZA AriannaTeam BikeExchange - Jayco7
5WOOD AliceCanyon//SRAM Racing6
6DUVAL EugénieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope5
7GÅSKJENN IngvildTeam Coop - Hitec Products4
8YSLAND Anne DortheUno-X Pro Cycling Team3
9BORGHESI LetiziaEF Education-TIBCO-SVB2
10VAN DER DUIN MaikeLe Col - Wahoo1
Mountains
RankNameTeamPoints
1MAJERUS ChristineTeam SD Worx8
2CHABBEY EliseCanyon//SRAM Racing5
3VERHULST-WILD GladysLe Col - Wahoo3
4JASTRAB MeganTeam DSM2
5LE NET MarieFDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope1
6KOCH FranziskaTeam DSM1
Teams
RankNameTime
1FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 11:00:45
2Team SD Worx0:00
3Canyon//SRAM Racing0:00
4UAE Team ADQ0:00
5Human Powered Health0:00
6Team Coop - Hitec Products0:00
7Le Col - Wahoo0:00
8EF Education-TIBCO-SVB0:00
9Liv Racing Xstra0:00
10CAMS - Basso0:00
11Team BikeExchange - Jayco0:00
12Uno-X Pro Cycling Team0:00
13Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling0:00
14Team DSM0:00
15Trek - Segafredo0:00
16Movistar Team0:00
17Team Jumbo-Visma0:00

Results provided by ProCyclingStats.

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