How the race finished
Demi Vollering (SD Worx Protime) pulled on the yellow jersey after an outstanding TT performance that saw her win Stage Three ahead of Chloé Dygert (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Loes Adegeest (FDJ Suez).
Full results are available below.
How it happened
Stage Three took place on the same day as Stage Two, a short 6.3km individual time trial around Rotterdam. Much of the course was fairly non-technical in nature, with some longish straights early on that suited bigger stronger riders. With such a short distance, some of the sprinters would also have fancied their chances alongside the TT specialists.
Of the early starters, Elena Pirrone (Roland) was the first to set a competitive time, at 7:44.12. Pirrone had little time to enjoy the hot seat though, as soon after Loes Adegeest (FDJ Suez) came through with a time of 7:30.52.
Grace Brown (FDJ Suez) was the first of the big favourites to start early. After flying though the first couple of kilometres, all the hard work by the Olympic ITT champ was undone by a rear wheel puncture. After a bike change, she crossed the line 20 seconds down on the time of her teammate Loes Adegeest.
Ellen Van Dijk (Visma Lease a Bike) was the next big favourite. After the disappointment of the Olympics she appeared to be pushing hard at home. At the intermediate checkpoint she had a one second lead on Adegeest, but despite continuing to push, the roles reversed at the finish. Van Dijk just missed out on the lead by one second.
A trio of top TT specialists then set off within a few minutes of each other. Kristen Faulkner (EF Oatly Cannondale) was first to challenge, just missing out on Adegeest’s time by less than a second. Behind her, the Olympic silver medalist Anna Henderson (Visma Lease a Bike) came up six seconds short.
The final of the three was Chloé Dygert (Canyon//SRAM Racing), who went fastest at the intermediate by one second. On the finishing straight it looked to be coming right down to the wire, with Dygert setting a new fastest time by 0.17 of a second.
A solid effort by Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx Protime) saw her just miss Dygert’s time by four seconds. Reijanne Markus (Visma Lease a Bike) came through seven seconds down, a result that put her first of the GC contenders so far.
Next up, the overall race favourite and defending Champion Demi Vollering (SD Worx Protime) went through the intermediate in first equal position, taking the corners noticeably faster than everyone else. At the finish, she bettered Dygert’s time by a massive 5 seconds. It was something of a surprise against the TT specialists, and put her in prime position over the other GC riders.
While Vollering looked tough to beat, Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT-Pro Cycling) put in a notable effort soon after to finish in provisional 4th place. This was an impressive effort for the young rider with GC aspirations.
The final riders down the start ramp were the sprinters, currently near the lead of the race overall. Some would have been hoping a competitive time would put them in the running for the yellow jersey. Marianne Vos (Visma Lease a Bike), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx Protime), and Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) all looked to be pushing hard, and at the finish Wiebes was the fastest of the sprinters. Finishing nine seconds down on her teammate Vollering, she missed out on the yellow jersey by just three seconds. Previous race leader Kool was now five seconds down on Vollering on the GC, tied with Dygert, Adegeest and Kerbaol.
Of the GC contenders, Vollering will be the happiest with how today went. She said she didn’t expect to win the stage, anticipating that it would go to one of the sprinters or power-TT riders. She also now has a handy lead over her rivals before the first hilly stage tomorrow.
Markus may have hoped for slightly better given her TT pedigree, but Markus, Juliette Labous (dsm firmenich PostNL) and perhaps especially Kerbaol should all be happy enough where they find themselves after the opening three stages.
Both Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing) and Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco) lost 30 seconds to Vollering today, while further down the results sheet some other expected overall contenders including Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Evita Muzic (FDJ Suez), and Gaia Realini (Lidl Trek) all find themselves with work to do.
Stage Three Results
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