The longest stage of the 2025 Tour of Britain Women delivered brutal racing, torrential rain, and a reshuffling of the overall standings, with 19-year-old Cat Ferguson emerging as the new race leader following a gutsy sprint win in Kelso.
The 143.8km route through the Scottish Borders started dry but quickly descended into chaos as showers lashed the roads. Multiple crashes disrupted the peloton, the most serious with 56km to go on a slick right-hand bend, bringing down more than ten riders, including the green jersey Kristen Faulkner, stage 2 winner Mara Roldan, Lorena Wiebes, and Barbara Guarischi. While Faulkner remounted twice, both Roldan and Guarischi were forced to abandon, and Wiebes was seen waiting for her teammate before also climbing off. Lizzie Deignan stopped to comfort Roldan, holding the Canadian’s hand as she lay on the ground, confirming the severity of the incident.
Faulkner, who had already needed a bike change on the opening climb, fell again with 34km remaining. Her GC hopes evaporated as she crossed the line in a group over three minutes behind, tumbling to 16th overall.
Earlier, a punchy start saw QOM points contested at Scott’s View and Dingleton, with Dominika Wlodarczyk and Amber Kraak taking top spots for UAE Team ADQ and FDJ-Suez, respectively. Kraak launched a solo move that was eventually reeled in, before Wlodarczyk attacked again to win the Dunion Hill climb. Despite the aggression, the stage remained tightly controlled until the race-defining move formed after the final climb.
It was Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig who initiated the decisive attack on the second ascent of Dingleton. She was joined by Ferguson, Josie Nelson, Ally Wollaston, Karlijn Swinkels and Eleonora Gasparrini. The group of six quickly pulled clear, but a mechanical for Uttrup Ludwig left five riders to contest the finale. Behind, the peloton chased in fragmented groups but could not close the gap.
Photo Credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.comIn the final kilometre across the River Tweed and onto Kelso’s cobbles, Ferguson waited until 300 metres to go before launching her sprint. Nelson and Wollaston followed, but the Movistar rider held on to take her first Women’s WorldTour victory, and with it the overall race lead. She now heads the GC by three seconds over Wollaston, with Swinkels at 12 seconds.
Gasparrini, who briefly lost contact in the last 2km, recovered to finish fifth, while Deignan won the combativity award after her selfless work and front group efforts earlier in the day.
Speaking after the finish, Ferguson was visibly emotional. “I’m so over the moon. This is one of the races I was most excited to do this season,” she said, explaining the significance of racing – and winning – in front of a home crowd. “I wanted to show Britain how good I can be and I think I did that today.”
Reflecting on her approach to the sprint, Ferguson noted that her earlier experience on the course gave her the confidence to go long. “We’d done the finish before in the intermediate sprint, and I knew if I was second wheel into the corner and went first, I could hold it. You lose momentum on the cobbles, so you have to go before you stall. I just didn’t look back.”
Now the youngest rider ever to win a WorldTour race at 19 years and 41 days, Ferguson admitted the GC lead was a surprise. “I’m a little bit nervous now. It’s going to be a rough night’s sleep. I didn’t expect to be in this jersey but we’ll make a plan to defend it tomorrow in Glasgow.”
Movistar directeur sportif Robby Cobbaert also highlighted the resilience of Imogen Wolff, who returned from a crash to finish eighth. “Imogen is developing really well… we shouldn’t forget that she is only nineteen,” he said.
Wolff’s ride moved her up to 12th overall, while teammate Linda Riedmann also featured prominently in the front group until the final split.
The race concludes tomorrow with a city-centre criterium in Glasgow, where bonus seconds could still decide the final GC.
Photo Credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com2025 Tour of Britain Women Stage 3 result
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Main photo credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
