Take2 weeks ago
Amber Pate's January crash may have saved her life: scans taken for suspected fractures found a small but malignant tumour on her pancreas, leading to a six-hour distal pancreatectomy — and, five months later, a return to racing at the toughest edition of Tour of Britain Women since the race was revived.
Pate hadn't raced since Le Samyn in March before surgery removed the slow-growing pancreatic tumour. She called the discovery «a stroke of good fortune» — without the crash, there's no scan, and no early detection. The 2026 Tour of Britain Women is the longest and hardest edition yet, which makes it a blunt test of a body four months out of a six-hour operation. Her own verdict: «The hardest week I've done by far all year.»
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