Cat Ferguson wasn’t expecting a fairytale win on home soil – but the 19-year-old delivered just that in Kelso, powering to her first ever Women’s WorldTour victory at stage 3 of the 2025 Tour of Britain Women. The rain-soaked day in the Scottish Borders turned chaotic after multiple crashes, with GC leader Kristen Faulkner caught behind the carnage and losing her grip on the race lead. Ferguson emerged from the chaos calm and clear, winning from a reduced front group and pulling on the leader’s jersey.
“This race was a big goal of mine,” Ferguson told Cycling Weekly after the stage. “I really wanted to come in and have good form, something I feel like I’ve been lacking a little bit to be honest. The whole season was missing that spark, and in this race, I think I’ve found it.”
Conditions were far from ideal. Heavy overnight rain had made the roads slick, and the peloton was nervous from the flag drop. With around 56km to go, a high-speed crash on a left-hand bend took down a large group including stage 2 winner Mara Roldan and Faulkner. In total, nine riders abandoned the stage due to the conditions. Ferguson, however, stayed out of trouble.
“Unfortunately there was a lot of misfortune, and Faulkner was caught behind crashes and mechanicals about three times, so I’m feeling for her,” Ferguson said. “But I managed to stay at the front out of trouble and I’m used to riding in the rain, being from the UK, so I think that definitely helped.”
Photo Credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix.comThe race lit up on the final climb with an attack from Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig 24km from the finish. It led to a final selection of six riders, including Ferguson, Ally Wollaston, and Josie Nelson. With Wollaston the faster finisher on paper, few expected Ferguson to pull off the win. But the young Brit had a plan.
“I knew that Ally’s definitely a better sprinter than me. Obviously, in the intermediate sprint she beat me, so I was thinking it was going to be difficult to beat her. But, if I came in second wheel and launched first on the cobbles, then hopefully I could get a bit more momentum on her, and it worked.”
Ferguson’s surprise and joy were visible at the finish. “It’s incredible. It’s really more than I could have hoped for,” she said, wrapped in a jacket and soaked from the persistent drizzle.
Now in the leader’s jersey, Ferguson carries a slender three-second lead into the final day in Glasgow – a circuit stage that features multiple intermediate sprints and bonus seconds. The race is far from over.
“I’m very nervous. I didn’t imagine myself in this position, so now we have a lot of work to do and planning to do on how we approach tomorrow,” she admitted. “I only have a few seconds lead, and I think tomorrow there will be four sprints to gain time, so it’s going to be a difficult one. But with the team we have, we’re really motivated, so we’ll do the best we can.”
Main photo credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
