The second day might very well be harder than the first: tired and sore bodies already, the weather is looking challenging, and the climbs are tougher.

Stage two isn’t quite as long as the opener, but starting and finishing in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, the riders take an anti-clockwise loop through such delights as Cold Norton, Old Knotty Way, Upper Tean and the very appropriate Potteries Way.

Hanley is one of the six historic towns that comprise the Potteries, and holds a central place in the region’s identity.

There are two sprints on the menu at Rocester (80.8kms) and Cheadle (94.7kms) before the first-category climbs of Ipstones (100kms) and Gun Hill (119.5kms).

Ipstones is four kilometers in length while Gun Hill is just a shade under two-and-a-half kilometers. There are a couple of other spikes on the run-in to the line, and the final three kilometers see the road gradually rising. This finale adds an extra 400 meters of ascending to the the Staffordshire stage won last year by Marianne Vos. Given her performances in recent weeks, it would be little surprise if she isn’t up for the victory again this year.

Tactically, things are really nicely poised: even if Kasia Niewiadoma has a formidable lead, the other big teams will have to come out fighting. And if the Pole managed to sneak away and win solo by two minutes, then it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that someone else can do the same later in the week.