Wollaston denies GB's Ferguson to win Tour of Britain
Ally Wollaston overturned a three-second deficit to win the Tour of Britain Women and deny British teenager Cat Ferguson victory.The New Zealander won all three intermediate sprints on the final stage in Glasgow to draw level with 19-year-old Ferguson, before gaining another four bonus seconds by finishing third behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes and Charlotte Kool.Wollaston, of FDJ-Suez, beat Movistar's Ferguson by four seconds overall, with UAE Team ADQ's Dutchwoman Karlijn Swinkels finishing third."I'm a little bit overwhelmed - sorry. I'm so happy, first of all. A massive 'thank you' to my team-mates, I couldn't have done it without them. This means the world to me - it's my first World Tour victory in GC [general classification]," said Wollaston."I knew I needed to get every second I could in the bonus sprints, and unfortunately Cat was right in my wheel every time. "So it came down to the last sprint, and there was a moment of doubt halfway through that last lap where I thought 'I just cannot do this today'. My team-mates really helped me pull it together and pulled me to the front for the final."Ferguson looked like claiming the first of three time bonuses for the intermediate sprints at the end of the fourth lap of the 8.4km city-centre circuit, but Wollaston squeezed past her with just metres remaining.Wollaston then beat the Briton in the second intermediate sprint to trail the overall leader's green jersey by one second.The 24-year-old moved into the lead with victory on the third intermediate sprint to set up a thrilling finale. European champion Wiebes launched her attack at the 300m mark before powering over the line first, followed by Kool and Wollaston, who took the last bonus seconds to win the overall classification.Wollaston's FDJ-Suez also won the team classification, while Ferguson, who finished the fourth stage in seventh, claimed the red points jersey.
Stage four results
Lorena Wiebes (Ned/Team SD Worx–Protime) 1hr 57mins 13secsCharlotte Kool (Ned/Team Picnic-PostNL) Same timeAlly Wollaston (NZ/FDJ-Suez) Same timeChiara Consonni (Ita/Canyon Sram-Zondacrypto) Same timeBabette van der Wolf (Ned/EF Education - Oatly) Same timeAnna Henderson (GB/Lidl-Trek) Same timeCat Ferguson (GB/Movistar Team) Same timeCelia Gery (Fra/FDJ-Suez) Same timeLinda Zanetti (Sui/Uno-X Mobility) Same timeNienke Veenhoven (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike)
General classification after stage four
Ally Wollaston (NZ/FDJ-Suez) 10hrs 36mins 45secsCat Ferguson (GB/Movistar Team) +04secsKarlijn Swinkels (Ned/UAE-Team ADQ) +22secsRiejanne Markus (Ned/Lidl-Trek) +50secsSarah van Dam (Can/Ceratizit) +1min 01secCecilie Uttrup-Ludwig (Den/Canyon Sram-Zondacrypto) +1min 02secsMegan Jastrab (USA/Team Picnic-PostNL) Same timeAnna Henderson (GB/Lidl-Trek) +1min 06secsQuinty Ton (Ned/Liv AlUla-Jayco) Same timeMillie Couzens (GB) +1min 09secs
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Wood makes mark on England comeback
BRISTOL, England, June 8 (Reuters) - England bowler Luke Wood said he was just trying to make his mark after being named player of the match in a T20 victory over West Indies in Bristol on Sunday, nearly two years after his last international appearance. In a match dominated by some formidable hitting, Wood was England's stand-out bowler, with two wickets, including one with the very first ball of the contest. Wood, who finished with figures of 2-25, struck Evin Lewis on the pads to get England off to a perfect start in his first appearance since September 2023. "It's my first game in an England shirt for a year and half. I'm just trying to make my mark when you get a chance to do so, it was nice to get a run out and nice to win a game," he said after England clinched a four-wicket victory to seal the three-match series. "First game back, a wicket always settles you down a bit. A bit of nerves, but I enjoyed it. They didn't announce the team until we got here today, anticipation is more nerve-wracking, when you get on the field it's OK." Wood was the latest England bowler to shine on their return to the team after Liam Dawson took four wickets on his international comeback after nearly three years out in the first T20. Dawson had a less profitable outing in Bristol, taking 0-43 in a match dominated by both sides' big hitters. The tourists hit 15 sixes on their way to an imposing total of 196-6 and England followed that 10 of their own as they claimed victory with nine balls to spare. "We had a lot of fun out there," said England captain Harry Brook, who continued his excellent start in the role with a second straight series win over the West Indies after a 3-0 whitewash in the one-dayers. "We chased the score beautifully. It was a very good performance. "We have a lot of depth. Small boundaries here, we always felt they were under par by 30 runs."
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Emma Raducanu says she's not 'playing for money' - as women tennis stars return to Queen's
Tennis star Emma Raducanu has told Sky News she doesn't feel like she's "playing for money" and it's not her "main motivation". The British number two, who is reportedly worth around £10m, was speaking as she replied to a question from sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao during a news conference ahead of a WTA 500 event starting this week in west London. Women players are returning to compete at the Queen's Club for the first time in more than 50 years, ahead of Wimbledon next month. Those in the line-up for the inaugural HSBC Championships at Queen's include 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys, former Wimbledon champions Barbora Krejcikova and Elena Rybakina, and British number one Katie Boulter, as well as 2021 US Open champion Raducanu. It means a tour level women's tournament is coming to London for the first time since 1973, when Olga Morozova was crowned the last female champion at Queen's. While prize money is equal at the grand slams and some joint tour events, generally remuneration on the WTA Tour is substantially lower than on the men's ATP Tour. Raducanu, 22, told Sky's Jacquie Beltrao: "There is obviously a big difference [in prize money] and I'm sure a lot players will kind of say their piece on it, but I just prefer not to get involved and just whatever the situation is I'll kind of roll with it, but I'm never really going to take a stand either way." She added: "I don't really get involved or kind of stay in the loop with all the boards and all the decisions and stuff. I kind of just get on with it and I don't feel like I really am playing for money. "Of course I need to sustain my team which is extremely expensive and you know... with my kind of profile, coaches and team members kind of see that. So it is a very expensive sport, but it's not my main motivator of why I play." Raducanu, who is managing an ongoing back issue, also said her expectations for how she does in the Queen's tournament were "pretty low". "I played points for the first time today. I've had maybe like two, three days on the grass court, so it's not been much, but I just have to take it as it goes," she said. Why did the tournament move from Queen's in 1974? In 1974, Britain's governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), decided to move the women's event from Queen's to Eastbourne as the London venue could not support men's and women's events at once - but in 2025 that has changed. The LTA has cited a desire to raise the profile of women's tennis and promote it to more people for the move to the capital. The organisation is committed to paying equal prize money to female players at Queen's and the Lexus Eastbourne Open by 2029. How much is the prize money for the women's event? The LTA announced last Thursday it would pay total prize money of $1.415m (approximately £1m) at Queen's, the highest for a WTA 500 event of its draw size this year. But that is still less than half of the prize pot that will be paid out to the male players the following week for the equivalent 500 tournament on the ATP Tour, where the line-up includes world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. The LTA has stated an aim to achieve parity on prize money before 2029 but its rationale comes against a £4m loss made across the grass-court events it staged last year - Wimbledon is run by the All England Club - with the men's event at Queen's the only profitable tournament. 'Significant increases to prize money' Scott Lloyd, the governing body's chief executive, said: "We are making significant increases this year to the women's prize money at Queen's and Eastbourne and want to achieve equal prize money as soon as possible. "The LTA is committed to growing women's tennis, both at professional and grass-roots level, and this move is an important part of that commitment. "This year fans will be able to enjoy both men's and women's tennis on the biggest stages that we can offer and we want to develop the tournaments so that the women's events deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the sport." The Queen's Club is named after Queen Victoria, its first patron, and is regarded as one of the premier Lawn Tennis and Racquets clubs in the world.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
It feels like we're a group of mates – Skipper Harry Brook hails England unity
England captain Harry Brook praised the unity of his 'group of mates' after sealing his second series win in just 11 days in charge. Brook has won five on the bounce against the West Indies since taking over from Jos Buttler, sweeping the tourists 3-0 in the ODI leg and going 2-0 up with one to play in the T20s. England did not have it easy in Sunday's four-wicket win at Bristol, with the asking rate climbing past 11 an over at one stage as they chased down a stiff target of 197. But they stuck together to get over the line, with five of their top six making handy contributions before Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton took the bull by the horns. The middle-order duo hammered 56 off just 21 deliveries between them to puncture the West Indian resistance and keep the good times rolling for Brook. It was the kind of game England were losing in the difficult final days under Buttler, whose reign ended with eight straight defeats across both formats. But there is a new lighter feeling around the group – including the newly liberated former skipper, who has top-scored with 96 and 47 in the last two games. 'It feels like we're a group of mates. We're just going out and having fun,' said Brook. 'It's been nice for me. The results are awesome and we're really enjoying it. We're having a good time out there. 'At the end of games we go around the circle and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) asks if anybody has anything to say. In every game so far someone has stood up and said something. I think that's a great way of showing how the team is at the minute and we feel a proper togetherness.' The West Indies made England sweat at times, taking 82 off their last five overs including an unexpected tirade against Adil Rashid in the 19th. For so long the team's most bankable bowler, the leg-spinner shipped five sixes and 31 runs in what goes down as the second most expensive over by an English bowler in T20s. Stuart Broad holds the unwanted record of 36, taken for six off every ball by Yuvraj Singh at the 2007 World Cup. Brook, though, insists he and his team were never rattled. 'I'm always very chilled. We knew that there was going to be one, two, maybe three big overs,' he said. 'On a pitch that size, with 60-metre boundaries nearly all the way around, we accepted that before the game and we knew we could get big overs as well. 'The way Bants went about his business, getting 30 off 11 balls having never really batted in the middle order before was just awesome.' The West Indies have one more chance to avoid a winless tour in Southampton on Tuesday but head coach Daren Sammy paid tribute to Akeal Hosein, who took the field just six hours after arriving from the Caribbean following visa delays. 'He said to me, 'there's no way I'm not playing',' Sammy explained. 'Kudos to him, he turned up for us. An eight-hour flight straight into a game is not ideal but it shows his commitment.'
