Also after 3 days racing on British soil, Kasia Niewiadoma is still the proud leader of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour.  The competition was putting WM3 Pro Cycling in the hot seat in the 3rd stage. However, the team vigorously defended the green jersey, even though Kasia’s lead has been shrinking. Marianne Vos was involved in a crash in the final kilometre.

“We had to deal with several attacks from the beginning. It was all hands on deck as the groups were either too big or our first rankings in the general classification were jeopardized. The riders closed many gap. Hats off for the way they have handled that”, says DS Jeroen Blijlevens.

In pursuit
The race seemed to be stalling after the crossfire of attacks, but after approximately 60 kilometres, the pace increased again. Several riders escaped from the peloton and a group of 5 leaders was formed, including Gracie Elvin, Shara Gillow, Malgorzata Jasinska, Martina Ritter and Cecilie Ludwig. With a comfortable lead and Ludwig being at 1’58” in the overall ranking, also this group was a threat to Kasia’s green jersey.

Jeroen Blijlevens: “We positioned ourselves at the front of the chasing group. At first, we had to do the work by ourselves, but after the 2 climbs, we got support from teams who had an interest in a sprint.”  The breakaway group got caught in the final 10 kilometres.

Crash
The peloton prepared itself for a bunch sprint in the streets of Royal Leamington Spa. A crash occurred in the final kilometre with Marianne Vos as one of the victims, even though she got back on the bike. She had crashed earlier in the stage as well.

Chloe Hosking outsprinted everyone to take the victory, while Kasia Niewiadoma crossed the finish line not much later. Her lead in the general classification decreased to 1’43”. Ellen van Dijk took the 2nd place from Marianne Vos. Kasia still holds the points jersey.

Update
Marianne injured her left arm and right clavicle in the sprint and was initially treated in the teambus.  She went to the hospital to have X-rays taken which indicated a broken right clavicle. At this point, it is not yet known what the consequences will be in her programme for the remaining of the season.