Stage 3
Stage 3 took us over two cat 1 climbs and a Cat 2. Myself and Louise stayed with the bunch as long as we could but naturally the climbs split the bunch up. We fell in with a group consisting of two Dutch girls from Noord Holland, a girl from Look Mum No Hands, a girl from Cycling Leinster and ourselves. It proved very difficult to get the Dutch girls to do any work on the climbs, clearly saving themselves for the descents! In the end, Louise finished strong with the group, with myself crossing the line not long after, the climbs having taken their toll!
Stage 4
This stage consisted of 4 laps of 10 miles approximately. Events of the previous few days racing were starting to take their toll and our legs were very heavy. It was a flattish course so the race started very fast and myself and Louise found ourselves dropped before the first lap was completed but we worked well together to finish. Had to keep in mind there was still another 3 stages to go!
Stage 5
The time trial and Louise’s specialty! It was a short TT, only 2 miles and was also downhill, which helped! Louise pulled off a very strong time, and was the fastest out of the Cycling Ulster ladies.
Stage 6
The final stage! Again another long stage with two Cat 2 climbs. Myself and Louise stayed with bunch for well over 20 miles and only got dropped near the top of the first climb so we were both delighted! We found ourselves on our own this time but we worked well together on the remaining climbs and descents and we were both just happy to finish!