Pooley solos to victory in Lekeitio

Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) soloed to victory on stage 2 of the Emakumeen Euskal Bira and took over the general classification lead on a day in which the peloton was shattered by the stage's four categorised climbs.

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Stichting-Rabo Women) won the sprint for second from a 10-rider chase group which finished 20 seconds behind Pooley.

Pooley now leads overall with nine riders clustered behind her at eight seconds. Stage 2 runner-up Annemiek Van Vleuten holds second followed by Trixi Worrack (Specialized-lululemon) in third. Overnight race leader Ina Teutenberg finished in a group 6:50 back and dropped to 32nd overall.

An 11-rider group formed the first attack of the day after 50km of racing, which soon ballooned to a 31-rider strong lead group. The front group then blew apart on the category 2 Lekoitz Gane ascent, whose summit is situated 19km from the finish, with Pooley leading a six-rider escape over the top. The Briton was accompanied by teammates Lucinda Brand and Lizzie Armitstead, Amanda Spratt (GreenEdge-AIS), Eleonora Van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon) and Mascha Pijnenborg (Dolmans-Boels Cyclingteam).

The escape grew in numbers on the descent but once again Pooley pushed the pace on the final climb, the category 3 Milloi Gane, drawing out teammate Lucinda Brand plus Amanda Spratt.

Spratt would be unable to keep contact with the AA Drink-Leontien.nl duo, and then Brand, too, would be dropped by her teammate as she continued solo to the finish line.

A 10-rider chase group would consolidate behind Pooley, but they were unable to bring back the flying Briton and crossed the finish line in Lekeitio 20 seconds back.