A powerful full team lead-out delivered Canadian champion Maggie Coles-Lyster to third place on stage 2 of the Tour of Chongming Island in China, with Kathrin Schweinberger following in eighth
The 27-year-old benefitted from an impressive display of teamwork from Schweinberger, Jente Koops, Silvia Zanardi, Marta Jaskulska and Katia Ragusa, who guided her to her third WorldTour stage podium of the season.
“The girls rode a fantastic finale,” Coles-Lyster exclaimed afterwards. “The roads here are so wide, so we could be really patient and come late to be able to use our leadout as close to the finish as possible. We knew getting around the corner with 900m to go in good position was important, so we made that our target and executed it perfectly.”
The result leaves Coles-Lyster fourth on the general classification, with Schweinberger fifth, having also picked up bonus time by winning the first intermediate sprint of the day.
“That does feel really good,” continued Coles-Lyster. “As I’ve noted before, my expectations of myself have gone up a lot this year, so I’m consistently right in the mix where I belong and would like one more podium before the year is over.”
Another frenetic stage, Koops was once again active throughout the day as the rider tasked with joining any large breakaway. Schweinberger also displayed impressive sprinting power, beating everyone to the line to take bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint.
After another late breakaway was reeled in, the lead-out train bided their time before Jaskulska darted to the front of the peloton with two kilometres to go. Koops, Zanardi and the two sprinters followed in tow as they navigated the final left-hand corner and launched the sprint.
“It wasn’t so fast in the last 800 meters before the sprint opened up, which made it a bit chaotic,” says Coles-Lyster. “I jumped when Lorena [Wiebes] and Lara [Gillespie] did but a rider came out on me and made me lose some momentum, so I was just happy I could save it and jump again.
As with the first stage, it was primarily Liv AlUla Jayco who were aiming to split the peloton and win from a breakaway due to having prior success in exactly those scenarios in 2025. As a result, the team always have to stay vigilant.
“We communicate lots when a break goes. If Lara or Lorena is in it, Kathrin and/or I need to be there,” explains Coles-Lyster. “Otherwise, if the WorldTour teams are present in a break, one of our other riders needs to be there to control it. Jayco is really pushing to have a break stay away, but the other WorldTour teams seem more happy with a bunch sprint, so there’s usually some level of collaboration to control it or bring it back if the break gets too much time.”
Tomorrow’s final stage will wrap the race up, with still so much to race for; it is bound to be an explosive end to the WorldTour season. All contained on Chongming Island, the sprinters will face a straight final 800 meters on a wide highway, with space enough for a classic field sprint on stage 3.
“A win is always the aim, but another podium would be good as well,” says Coles-Lyster. “We also want to keep going for intermediate sprints and I think a third place on GC is well within our target.”
Tour of Chongming Island stage 2 results
1 WIEBES Lorena – Team SD Worx – Protime 3:10:10
2 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team L’IMAD ”
3 COLES-LYSTER Maggie – Human Powered Health ”
4 COPPONI Clara – Lidl – Trek ”
5 ŠEVČÍKOVÁ Petra – Dukla Women Cycling ”
6 TON Quinty – Liv AlUla Jayco ”
7 JANSEN Noä – Liv AlUla Jayco ”
8 SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin – Human Powered Health ”
9 STRAKATÁ Vendula – Dukla Women Cycling ”
10 NĚMCOVÁ Barbora – Dukla Women Cycling ”
Tour of Chongming Island General Classification after stage 2
1 WIEBES Lorena – Team SD Worx – Protime 5:44:53
2 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team L’IMAD 0:11
3 COPPONI Clara – Lidl – Trek 0:17
4 COLES-LYSTER Maggie – Human Powered Health 0:22
5 SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin – Human Powered Health ”
6 MACHAČOVÁ Jarmila – Dukla Women Cycling 0:23
7 COLBORNE Henrietta – XDS China Women Team 0:24
8 ZHAN Chunrui – Bodywrap LTwoo Women’s Cycling Team 0:25
9 JANSEN Noä – Liv AlUla Jayco 0:26
10 ŠEVČÍKOVÁ Petra – Dukla Women Cycling ”
Stage Gallery
Photos: Tour of Chongming Island
