Today’s stage of the UAE Tour Women 2025 saw the fastest average speed of a women’s WorldTour stage race, ever.
The 111km stage which featured flat and wide desert roads, with ferocious crosswinds was won by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).
This wasn’t a surprise given her sprinting form and her win yesterday, but it was the average speed of the front group, which was the most notable at 48.407 km/h.
The leading group of five riders, which included Wiebes, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), alongside teammates Lara Gillespie and Karlijn Swinkelsm and Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) formed an echelon within the first few kilometres of the race and held off the peloton for the duration.
The previous fastest speed record for a WorldTour stage was recorded last year at stage four of La Vuelta Femenina where Kristen Faulkner claimed victory with an average speed of 46.75km/h.
In 2023 the record stood at 45.9km/h which was recorded at stage 2 in the Vuelta a Burgos the same year.
“Wow, that’s filthy,” Williams said to Cycling News when we broke the news of the fastest average speed to her.
“It’s crazy, every year the level progresses more and more and it’s fun to feel that I’m at the pointy edge of that.”
The Human Powered Health rider had thought the peloton would catch the breakaway.
“The echelon started immediately and honestly I was thinking the peloton would let us dangle until the second crosswind section and then come with speed after we were fatigued, so I wasn’t doing too much in the first bit,” Williams said.
“But once we hit the tailwind, we had a three-minute gap and we were just riding. Longo Borghini was trying to gain time on GC so UAE were obligated to do the work, but I was really on the limit.
“Longo Borghini was by far the strongest, and Lorena looked quite good. I would have rolled through more if I could but I was just holding on until the end.”
Williams is an Olympic gold and bronze medallist and world champion for Team USA in the team pursuit and has spent six of her eight years as a pro cyclist with the US-based team.
She was surprised at her own ability to keep with the breakaway for the duration.
“I knew I could probably get a result if I sprinted, but I wasn’t honestly confident I was going to make it with that group but I did so it’s good. It was a tough day for sure.”
A worthy addition to the history books.
