Great Britain’s Hannah Barnes outsprinted Lotta Lepistö (Cervélo-Bigla) of Finland and Kirsten Wild (Cylance Pro Cycling) of the Netherlands to claim stage 3 of the 2017 Giro Rosa on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Canyon-SRAM rider capped off a 100-kilometer day in the saddle from San Fior to San Vendemiano with her third pro career victory — and first since winning the British road race title in 2016.
“In the final kilometres I actually was not in a good position,” explained Barnes. “Elena told me at 6km to go that we needed to get to the front to be ready to lead out Barbara, and really even with 3km to go I still wasn’t where I needed to be.
“At the end I made it and it was Elena and I in front of Barbara,” she continued. “Elena led me for the last kilometre and with 200m to go I was still holding in front of Barbara. She yelled to go and I sprinted but then no one was coming around me and the win was mine.”
For the Finnish national champion, the second-place podium was a welcome result after a bout of sickness and an early race flat.
“It’s nice to be back with the team,” said Lepistö, who has returned to racing after facing weeks of illness recently. She also suffered an unfortunate puncture in the opening team time trial which affected her and the teams plans at the start of the race.
“I feel pretty relaxed. I’m happy to help the team and work for others where I am needed,” the 28-year-old continued. “Maybe we can help Lisa [Klein] get on the podium on some stages too. It’s nice to be back on the podium because I wasn’t sure about my shape but somehow I was there today and could jump on the podium. It’s a nice feeling.”
While Barnes took the stage win, Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) remains the overall race leader heading into Monday’s 118km flat sprinter’s stage in Occhiobello.
“It was fast today but not much happened,” said Van der Breggen. “We were over the Poggio with a steady pace and had a small group for a moment, but in the downhill things came together again. After that it was clear that some teams were going for a bunch sprint, which was fine for us.”
Stage 3 results, top 10
- 1. Hannah BARNES, CANYON-SRAM, in 2:27:49
- 2. Lotta LEPISTÖ, CERVÉLO-BIGLA, at 0:00
- 3. Kirsten WILD, CYLANCE PRO CYCLING, at 0:00
- 4. Roxane FOURNIER, FDJ-NOUVELLE AQUITAINE-FUTUROSCOPE, at 0:00
- 5. Amalie DIDERIKSEN, BOELS-DOLMANS, at 0:00
- 6. Chloe HOSKING, ALÉ CIPOLLINI, at 0:00
- 7. Emilie MOBERG, HITEC PRODUCTS, at 0:00
- 8. Giorgia BRONZINI, WIGGLE-HIGH5, at 0:00
- 9. Maria Giulia CONFALONIERI, LENSWORLD-KUOTA, at 0:00
- 10. Ilaria SANGUINETI, BEPINK COGEAS, at 0:00
General classification, top 10
- 1. Anna VAN DER BREGGEN, BOELS-DOLMANS, in 5:54:21
- 2. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, ORICA-SCOTT, at 0:18
- 3. Elisa LONGO BORGHINI, WIGGLE-HIGH5, at 0:26
- 4. Megan GUARNIER, BOELS-DOLMANS, at 2:00
- 5. Amanda SPRATT, ORICA-SCOTT, at 2:22
- 6. Katarzyna NIEWIADOMA, WM3 ENERGIE, at 2:37
- 7. Karol-ann CANUEL, BOELS-DOLMANS, at 2:43
- 8. Lucinda BRAND, TEAM SUNWEB, at 3:02
- 9. Floortje MACKAIJ,TEAM SUNWEB, at 3:02
- 10. Sabrina STULTIENS, TEAM SUNWEB, at 3:02
The post Giro Rosa: Barnes sprints to stage 3 win, GC unchanged appeared first on VeloNews.com.