News: Stage 1 in Scotland Abandoned

After the riders had completed 63km of the first stage of the Women’s Tour of Scotland; including two sprints and one climb, race organisers stopped the race due to large sections of standing water on the roads

News: Stage 1 in Scotland Abandoned

Friday 9 August, Dunfermline – Stage 1 of the Women’s Tour of Scotland was abandoned with 40km to go due to adverse weather conditions. The riders had completed 63km of the first stage of the inaugural race, including two sprints and one climb, before race organisers made the decision to abandon the stage at the feed zone in Leslie due to large sections of standing water on the roads.

Despite the stage being cut short, the Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains and Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints classification leaders were still awarded, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) and Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana) taking the respective jerseys.

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A Women’s Tour of Scotland spokesperson said: “Due to extreme weather conditions, we have taken the unfortunate decision together with Police Scotland and other relevant authorities to abandon today’s stage of the Women’s Tour of Scotland. Conditions have proven impossible due to heavy sections of standing water on the roads. Rider safety is paramount and conditions were no longer safe to continue.”

“The winners of today’s Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains and Motorola Solutions Sprints classifications were presented in Dunfermline, however the rest of the teams have returned to their accommodation. We still plan to commence the start of Stage 2 in Glasgow tomorrow.”

The 88 riders starting today’s race lined up for a minute’s silence for Lotto Soudal’s Bjorg Lambrecht – the Belgian cyclist who died following his crash in the Tour of Poland – before rolling out from Dundee’s Slessor Gardens for the first stretch of the inaugural race. With the Stage 1 route seeing plenty of heavy rain prior to the start, the riders set off at an expected gentle pace, sticking together for the first 30km with Rally UHC and Lotto-Soudal controlling the peloton from the front.

As the peloton approached the first sprint, some riders made an early statement for the Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints jersey in front of the Cupar High Street crowds.

20km Cupar sprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):
1. (5pts) Marjolein Van’t Geloof (Ale Cipollini)
2. (3pts) Leah Thomas (Bigla)
3. (2pts) Dani Christmas (Lotto-Soudal)
4. (1pts) Abby-Mae Parkinson (Drops)

It was the first climb of the stage that caused the first split with 35 riders going clear, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) taking the eight points in the Queen of the Mountains jersey competition.

45km Grange of Lindores climb (Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey competition):
1. (8pts) Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla)
2. (6pts) Elise Chabbey (Bigla)
3. (4pts) Leah Thomas (Bigla)

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By the time the riders reached the summit, the peloton had come back together to race in what proved to be the final sprint of the route before the stage was abandoned.

54.9km Falkland sprint (Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints Jersey competition):
1. (5pts) Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana)
2. (3pts) Mikayla Harvey (Bigla)
3. (2pts) Chiara Consonni (Valcar Cylance Cycling)
4. (1pts) Leah Thomas (Bigla)

Rider’s quotes
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig now leads the Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains Jersey after day one. She said: “It’s such a pity that the race had to be abandoned, but safety must always come first. We were really excited about the second climb and finishing the stage in front of the crowds in Dunfermline. We worked really well as a team today and I think we would have had a great finish. That makes me proud and keeps me excited for tomorrow. There’s still two more days to go so we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Eugenia Bujak, who won the Motorola Solutions Queen of the Sprints jersey, added: “We were all excited for the beautiful finish in the city of Dunfermline but it was a good decision to abandon the race. There was so much water on the road so we have to put our safety first. I usually enjoy racing in the wet and cold weather but today was just too much. We wanted to fight for more as a team, but despite how things turned out, I am still happy to come away with the sprint jersey.”

Stage 2 will go ahead as planned from Glasgow to Perth on Saturday