BIRTHDAY girl Megan Guarnier claimed overall victory in the women's Tour de Yorkshire by winning stage two to the summit finish on the Cow and Calf outside Ilkley.

American Guarnier of the Boels-Dolmans team broke clear in the final 500 metres of the 124km stage from Barnsley, winning by 14 seconds from Canyon/SRAM's Alena Amialiusik.

Dani Rowe, racing for Great Britain, was third across the line, 17 seconds behind Guarnier, to claim second place in the general classification.

Guarnier's win meant the Dutch Boels-Dolmans team successfully defended the title won in Harrogate last year by Lizzie Deignan. Deignan was not racing this year after announcing her pregnancy, but was still a key part of the win as the Otley-born rider passed on local knowledge.

"Lizzie took me through what I might expect in the final," Guarnier said. "I knew it was uphill, downhill, twisting, and winding but I hadn't been able to preview the courses so I had to race on instinct.

"I'm really happy. It's my first win of the season and after a tough season last year I feel like I'm back. The team were really behind me today and to have that confidence from them and be able to finish it for them, I'm really proud of that."

With bonus seconds applied, Rowe finished 17 seconds behind Guarnier in the general classification, with Amialiusik a further two seconds back in the first edition of the women's event to have multiple stages.

The battle for both the second stage and the overall title came down to a group of 15 riders who hit the bottom of the Cow and Calf together.

"It was really, really hard," said Rowe, who won bronze in the Commonwealth Games road race last month. "On Tuesday I rode the last half of the stage so I knew how long it was and how much it ramped up in the last 250 metres.

"I was trying to stay within myself. At one point I got gapped but I didn't panic. I knew it was probably going to come back together - if they could keep it up fair play to them - but I reeled them back slowly and I'm so happy to get third on the stage and second overall."