Horne rises to the occasion at inaugural Tour of Britain

Horne twice produced aggressive early moves to reach the summit at Kilworth on stage two in first and repeated the trick at Port Hill on the penultimate stage of the five-day Tour.

Speaking about her first Queen of the Mountains climb win, the 24-year-old said: “I saw an opportunity to go and thought why not.

“I got stuck in and thankfully managed to stay away.”

Riding for team leader Lucy Garner, who finished seventh, Horne completed the week 51st inthe overall classification.

She admitted the experience was a memorable one, but said it is in the velodrome where she feels happiest.

“I’m very happy with the week and and would definitely do more road stuff.

“But track is main focus.”

World and Olympic champion Marianne Vos won the final three stages of the Tour to take overall victory, while Sharon Laws took the Queen of the Mountains prize.