Lisa Brennauer (Velocio-SRAM) clinched the overall victory in the Aviva Women’s Tour on Sunday, beating back the attacks on the final day of racing.
Hannah Barnes (UnitedHealthcare) won the final 102.6km stage from Marlow to Hemel Hempstead after a break containing Claudia Lichtenberg (Team Liv-Plantur) and Audrey Cordon (Wiggle Honda) was caught inside the final kilometer. Jolien D’hoore (Wiggle Honda) took second with Simona Frapporti (Ale-Cipollini) third.
But Brennauer crossed fourth to wrap up the overall title ahead of runner-up D’hoore and third-placed Christine Majerus (Boels Dolmans), and take the points jersey for good measure.
“This tour is one of the biggest events on the women’s calendar, so this victory means a lot to me,” said Brennauer. “It was a great victory for me, but also for the whole team. It wasn’t easy today — a tough stage with all the hills and a lot of hard attacks.
“I worked hard yesterday to get the jersey back. I missed some of the intermediate sprints. I wanted to get to the point where I could give back to my teammates for all their hard work.”
As for Barnes, she was delighted to win the final stage.
”This was the biggest aim of the year, so I’m happy to have pulled it off,” she said. “I knew it would be hard in the Chilterns and what to expect.
“The sprint was crazy, very difficult. I got boxed at 100 meters to go but thankfully got free. The team are normally used to the American peloton and wide roads.”
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