Cat Ferguson wins Lloyds Tour of Britain Women stage 3 to move into overall lead

The winning break was sparked by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) over the climb of Dingleton with 25km. The Dane was joined by Ferguson, Nelson, Wollaston and the UAE Team ADQ duo of Karlijn Swinkels and Eleonara Gasparrini, and the group would build a maximum lead of 30 seconds over the chasers.

A mechanical problem forced Ludwig out of the break with 17km still to race, but the remaining five struck up enough of a working alliance to stay clear amid driving rain on the final run in to Kelso.

Ferguson had been the first to respond to Ludwig’s attack and the youngster showed considerable calm to manage the situation in the closing kilometres here. The 19-year-old also understood the importance of being first onto the cobbled square in Kelso in the closing metres, and she was full value for her victory.

The winner’s time bonus was enough to lift her above Wollastan in the overall standings and take the overall lead from Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who spent the afternoon chasing after coming down in a crash midway through the stage.

With just the final stage to Glasgow to come, Ferguson leads Wollaston by three seconds in the overall standings, while Swinkels is third at 12 seconds.

“I’m so over the moon. I think this is one of the races I was most excited to do this season. I wanted to show Britain how good I can be and I think I did that,” Ferguson said afterwards. "There were really tough conditions and lots of crashes and misfortune, but I lucky to get in winning move and we worked well. 

"I knew if could get in good position for the final corner, then I could win. It was better to be second wheel and then launch before the cobbles, because if you lose momentum on the cobbles, it’s hard to get it back."

Rain, wind, crashes and aggressive racing marked a breathless third day of the Tour of Britain Women, which took place in the hinterland of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. The overnight leader Faulkner was among those caught up in an early crash, but although she managed to rejoin the peloton after a tough chase, it was a portent of what was to come for the Olympic champion later in the day.

FDJ-Suez were an aggressive presence throughout the day, beginning on the first climb of Scott’s View, where their forcing splintered the peloton into shards. The tone was set for the remainder of the afternoon.

Faulkner was involved in another crash with a shade under 60km to go, when Lorena Wiebes, Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime), Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Mara Roldan (Picnic PostNL). Previous stage winner Le Court and Roldan were forced to abandon, together with Guarischi.

After remounting, Faulkner settled in for another long pursuit of the front of the race, but her misfortune would continue. She was still chasing furiously when she crashed with 34km to go. Though she remained in the race, that third fall ended her defence of the overall lead.

The climb to Dingleton soon afterwards would provide the springboard for the winning move, with Ludwig accelerating and Ferguson immediately responding. Nelson was the next to follow before Wollaston, Swinkels and Gasparrini bridged across to make a six-rider break.

A puncture forced Ludwig out of the move shortly afterwards, but the escapees retained their momentum. Swinkels made a vain attempt to anticipate the sprint with 2km to go, but she could get no traction on her attack, and in the streets of Kelso, Ferguson delivered a sparkling finish to take the spoils.

A chasing group of fifteen riders was led home by Millie Couzens (Great Britain), 38 seconds down on Ferguson, while the unfortunate Faulkner rolled home more than three minutes down.

Wollaston and Swinkels are Ferguson’s closest challengers ahead of the final stage in Glasgow, with Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) fourth at 40 seconds.

“It’s going to be a rough night’s sleep because I’m in a position I didn’t think I’d be in,” Ferguson said. “We’ll have to look and make a good plan for tomorrow, but I’ve raced there before and we’ve got a strong and motivated team.”