Demi Vollering has won the Women's Tour which finished in Suffolk
The final stage of the Women's Tour was from Haverhill to Felixstowe.
Demi Vollering has won the Women's Tour following a sixth and final stage from Haverhill to Felixstowe in Suffolk.
World Champion Elisa Balsamo finished first in the final stage but it wasn't enough to beat Vollering's overall lead.
“To win in this jersey is amazing – it was the perfect day,” said Balsamo.
“My team did a really great lead-out for me.”
“We knew we were strong in the sprints but today was perfect. It’s wonderful. This was my first time at this race but I will definitely come here again!”
Vollering’s advantage never looked in danger on Saturday’s last leg over 155.3km from Haverhill through to the Suffolk coast.
The Dutchwoman stayed clear of any trouble to finish safely in the peloton.
There had been an early breakaway from Eugenia Bujak, with Dani Christmas, Ane Santesteban, Sofia Bertizzolo and Veronica Ewers all helping to chase her down, albeit interrupted by a level crossing at around 56km left.
The peloton, though, continued to work hard to pull back a lead, which had been more than three minutes, heading into the closing stages.
Vollering claimed the overall title, 1min 2secs ahead of Team DSM’s Juliette Labous.
“It feels great. It’s really nice to win a stage race for the first time,” said Vollering.
“I made a big gap in the time trial and then the last three days were flat so we tried to sprint for Amy Pieters and then we only needed to control it. It was a good week and really nice with a lot of people next to the road. It is always nice to see so many people into women’s cycling.”
Clara Copponi was third for FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, a further three seconds off the pace.
The competition started in Bicester back on Monday, with two of the six legs held in Essex.
The fourth stage went from Shoeburyness to Southend, with Friday's penultimate leg from Colchester to Clacton.
Lorena Wiebes became only the second rider in Women's Tour history to win back-to-back stages with her victories in the two Essex legs.
The next edition of the AJ Bell Women’s Tour takes place between Monday 6 and Saturday 11 June 2022.