For British team "Le Cor Wahoo", the Women's Tour has been one of their main goals this season, playing an active role in their quest for a top GC finish and a special prize jersey.

On the second stage to Harlow, the team took a three-pronged approach, with Marjolein van der Gerouf as the protected rider for the sprint finish, eventually finishing fourth. Meanwhile, Myke van der Duyn and Gladys Verhulst had full authority for the intermediate and QOM sprints, maintaining the lead of van der Duyn's red sprint jersey while chasing the yellow leader jersey and green mountains jersey. In the opening stage the day before, Van der Duyn won two intermediate sprints to take the red sprint jersey. But she was also a threat for the yellow leader's jersey, and a bonus second put the 20-year-old Dutchwoman in third place overall, four seconds behind first stage winner Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope). She said, "On stage one, going for the sprint wasn't the main goal, but we were there and we just went for it. In the first stage, going for the sprint was not the main goal, but we were there and just went for it, because it's a really good situation for GC and in the best case scenario I could be the leader," Van der Duyn said before the second stage.

Van der Duyn won the first intermediate sprint on Tuesday, with Copponi in third, closing the gap to just two seconds, but in the second intermediate sprint Copponi beat the young Dutchwoman to take back one second. Van der Duyn is now second overall, three seconds behind the yellow jersey, but has a comfortable lead in the sprint class with 11 points to Copponi's four. Van der Duyn's priority going forward is to defend the red sprint jersey: "Our main goal is to defend the leader and make sure she is in the best and safest position. And as the race progresses, Van der Duyn will face new experiences. This is her first six-day stage race in the women's Tour, and she has only raced three-day stage races before. Wearing the red sprint jersey will give her extra motivation. "I am really happy to be in this situation. I like the team spirit. I like it a lot and I am looking forward to the next days. It's my first big stage race, so I don't know what the final result will be, but the jersey is a good goal for this week." On the hilly side, Gladys Verhulst earned three QOM points in the QOM sprint on the first day of racing. The last 20km of stage 2, Toot Hill and Stoner's Hill, offered two chances for the green QOM jersey won by Christine Majerus (SD Works) on stage 1. Verhulst was well-positioned on Toot Hill and took the maximum four points ahead of Elise Chaby (Canyon-SRAM) and Majerus.

"I got on the Canyon train before the QOM sprint. When Majerus started, I joined her circle and started the sprint. At the top, I saw a small gap and went for it." After the hill, Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) attacked from the peloton, and Verhulst quickly gained a breakaway partner. The Human Powered Health girl joined me a short time later and we rode together as long as we could." I wasn't thinking about winning a stage. She won the second QOM sprint and earned four more QOM points, but Majerus led the peloton up the hill, collecting two QOM points in the process and defending his jersey by one point: 12 for Majerus and 11 for Verhulst.

Their battle for the green QOM jersey continues on Wednesday's third stage from Tewksbury to Gloucester.