Women's Tour 2022: Lorena Wiebes roars back from last-corner crash to win Stage 2 in Harlow

After coming a cropper on the slippery streets of Suffolk on Monday, Lorena Wiebes (DSM) picked herself back up to claim a third victory on the roads of Essex in less than a fortnight on Stage 2 at the Women's Tour. The short lumpy bumpy 92km loop provided no problems for the fastest woman in the West, as she sprinted to victory in Harlow by several bike lengths. Ad/> Barbara Guarischi (Movistar) and Shari Bossuyt (Canyon Sram) finished in second and third respectively.

/> Cycling'Look at the turn of speed!' — Wiebes decimates sprint rivals on Stage 2 at Women’s Tour14 MINUTES AGO Bonus seconds picked up at both intermediate sprints ensured Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) would keep the overall race lead, regardless of where she finished. And if the crash-free climax was a welcome contrast to the previous stage, so the sunny southern skies made a change from the incessant drizzle. On bone dry roads the peloton paraded around a clockwise course just north of the capital.

The route took the peloton north-east out of Harlow, birthplace of Olympic great Laura Trott, towards Braintree, before turning back towards Chelmsford; the course then carried them through Chipping Ongar, skirting the M25 as the race enjoyed a stretch of Epping Forest, before heading back to where the stage began. The bonus points and seconds on offer at the intermediate sprints meant attacks were disincentivised, while a series of short, attritional climbs helped keep the bunch largely as one. The only early excitement came at the first of the sprints, in Great Dunmow after 21km.