Tour Féminin des Pyrénées: Usoa Ostolaza climbs to stage 2 victory and into GC lead

Spanish champion Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kuxta-Fundaction Euskadi) powered away from a select group of four on the fog-shrouded Col du Soulor to claim victory on stage 2 of the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées on Saturday.

Nadia Gontova (Winspace Orange Seal) followed 16 seconds later to take second place, with Ségolène Thomas (St-Michel–Préférence Home–Auber 93) finishing third, a further three seconds behind.

Brodie Chapman, who did a masterful pull on the lower slopes of the final climb, finished fifth on the stage, 58 seconds down. 

The quartet of Ostolaza, Gontova, Thomas and Valentina Cavallar (Arkea-B&B Hotels) pulled away from the reduced peloton inside of two kilometres to go on the ascent of Soulor with pitches over 10%. 

On a quest to grab the Queen of the Mountain points, a solo Heidi Frank (Cynisca Cycling) established a gap of four minutes to the peloton before being reeled in with 13km to go. The American should have secured the mountain classification on the 134.5 km stage, which started in Trie-sur-Baïse.

Ostolaza leads the GC with 16 seconds on Gontova, and 19 seconds on Thomas. Overnight leader Wollaston was dropped at the bottom of Col du Soulor.

Results

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