🇫🇷 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
⛰ Stage 3: Geneva - Poligny (156.5 km)
Anyone expecting a modest pace was thoroughly mistaken. The peloton set a blistering tempo right from the first climb, putting every sprinter under pressure, including Lorena Wiebes, with the sole exception of Marianne Vos, who managed to crest the summit with the lead group.
In the phase immediately following the QOM, Lucinda Brand launched an attack and was soon joined by 10 other riders, including Kopecky, Gery, de Vries, Ghekiere, Kastelijn, Lippert, and Haugset. It was the Norwegian champion herself who went solo with 88km to go, while the remaining attackers were reabsorbed by the bunch. Just a few kilometers later, Lotte Kopecky launched a solo move of her own in pursuit of Haugset.
Haugset's lead pushed past the 5-minute mark, while Kopecky hovered around one minute behind the Norwegian.
The race ignited on the 3° Cat. Côte de Chaux-Champagny QOM, where the GC favorites stopped holding back! Le Court attacked, Niewiadoma attacked, Vollering attacked, and Niewiadoma went again. Paying the price were Reusser and Ferrand-Prévot, though both limited their losses and bridged back, forming a select 9-rider group. However, with 10km remaining, the group came back together.
Up front, the battle of nerves between Haugset and Kopecky saw the former world champion gain ground kilometer after kilometer. But with 8km to go, Haugset stabilized her lead, enough to secure a historic stage victory for Uno-X and, above all, the yellow jersey! Lotte Kopecky crossed the line in second, while Marianne Vos won the sprint for third out of the chasing peloton!
👕 JERSEYS:
🟡 GC: 🇳🇴 S. Y. Haugset (UXM)
🟢 Pts: 🇳🇱 L. Wiebes (SDW)
🔴 QOM: 🇳🇱 P. Pieterse (FPC)
⚪️ Young: 🇪🇦 P. Blasi (UAD)
🟥 Comb: 🇳🇴 S. Y. Haugset (UXM)