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News & Racing 2023 Tour of Scandinavia Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig Road women's cycling #wordpress #wordpress-post-id-31280 #post-format-standard
Tour of Scandinavia stage 2 report: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig wins atop Norefjell for the second year in a row

Tour of Scandinavia stage 2 report: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig wins atop Norefjell for the second year in a row

Annemiek Van Vleuten finished a few seconds behind the Dane, the new overall leader.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig outsprints Annemiek Van Vleuten to take the second stage of the Tour of Scandinavia, 2023.

After narrowly missing out on Wednesday, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) kept her incredible form going to win the second stage of the Tour of Scandinavia. The Dane won out of a group of four that got away on the main climb of the day, with Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and Kim Cadzow (Jumbo-Visma) taking second and third on the line.

A group of chasers finished 31 seconds behind, with Van Vleuten's teammate Liane Lippert hovering between the winning move and the chasers. Ahead of the third stage Uttrup Ludwig holds onto the overall lead by eight seconds over Van Vleuten, 17 seconds over Greta Marturano and 37 seconds over Elise Chabbey.

How it happened

Brief stage results

[race_result id=15688 stage_id=75891 count=5 gc=0 year=2023]

GC standings after Stage 2

[race_result id=15688 stage_id=75891 count=5 gc=1 year=2023]

Quote of the day

It's been a rollercoaster year for Uttrup Ludwig, who had the ride of her life in 2022 to win the Danish national championship road race, a stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and the overall at the Tour of Scandinavia in short succession. But 2023 hasn't gone her way, with her form falling short at both the Giro Donne and the Tour, Uttrup Ludwig's legs seemingly have come around for the final months of the season.

"It has just not been the greatest season but what a turn around. This victory means so much to me, I'm just super happy and really proud."

-Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig at the finish

Brief analysis

Up next: stage 3

The third stage is the hardest of the week, with two climbs midway through the stage and a rolling course to finish. All day is up and down, so it will be a race similar to a one-day Classic with the strongest riders lasting to the end. Lorena Wiebes could definitely take her second stage of the week on Friday, but Lippert is also looking really strong. The stage could also be a prime opportunity for a break to succeed.

Live coverage of the stage is earlier in the day, starting at 12:30 CEST on GCN+.

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