Oh so close! Lizzie Deignan second on day two at Ride London Classique.

An aggressive race from Trek-Segafredo concludes with Lizzie Deignan sprinting to second, one better than her third place finish on the opening stage yesterday.

How it happened…

Trek-Segafredo were riding aggressively all day, attacking off the front of the bunch, chasing down moves and setting a pace so hard that there was only 15-20 riders left in the group approaching the final climb.

After a big pull from Elynor Backstedt to close the gap to a late opportunistic attacker, Deignan, Lucinda Brand and Lauretta Hanson were all there as the race headed into its exciting conclusion in the last 10 kilometers.

A crash with just 1.5 kilometers to go saw the group in pieces on the run into the line but fortunately, the Team was able to avoid getting caught up in the chaos with Deignan once again at the pointy end of the race.

It wasn’t an easy sprint but Deignan showed that she has clearly been racing herself into form and her power was clear in the uphill drag race towards the finish with only Chloe Dygert (Canyon // SRAM Racing) able to hold off Queen Lizzie from securing her first win back.

Lizzie’s Reaction

I didn't expect that result today. I didn't feel great and that probably impacted our tactics a little bit especially on that final climb. If I was feeling good I probably would have asked the girls to try and launch something but we kind of wanted to make it hard but still have numbers over the top of the last climb. The team did a fantastic job and I am really grateful to them.

It is a surprise to be in this position on the GC going into tomorrow's final stage. We, of course, came here with Elisa Balsamo, she was our chosen sprinter and she sadly crashed out yesterday. The racing here is always really dynamic and you have to expect the unexpected. We even have sunshine for example.

For tomorrow, I think Charlotte [Kool, DSM] has the biggest chance for overall victory. But we will go down fighting and we will try to stick it to them

Photos from stage 2

RideLondon Classique 2023 - 2nd stage - Maldon - Maldon133,1 km - 27/05/2023 - Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (ITA - UAE Team ADQ) Elynor Backstedt (GBR - Trek - Segafredo) Alex Morrice (GBR - Canyon SRAM Racing)Charlotte Kool (NED - Team DSM)Hanna Johansson (SUE - Torelli) Clara Copponi (FRA - FDJ - SUEZ) - photo Alex Brodway/SprintCyclingAgency©2023

RideLondon Classique 2023 - 2nd stage - Maldon - Maldon133,1 km - 27/05/2023 - Elynor Backstedt (GBR - Trek - Segafredo) Alex Morrice (GBR - Canyon SRAM Racing)Charlotte Kool (NED - Team DSM)Hanna Johansson (SUE - Torelli) - photo Alex Brodway/SprintCyclingAgency©2023