Sarah Van Dam continued her consistent run at La Vuelta España Femenina, sprinting to third place on Stage 3 after a demanding 120-km day from Padrón to A Coruña.
On a rolling route that never let up, Visma-Lease a Bike fired all sorts of late attacks to keep the pace high, and to set it up for a small bunch sprint for Victoria’s Van Dam. The Olympian continues to show her brilliant kick this week, and yesterday she was so damn close.
Kerbaol’s attack
The only snag was a clever move by EF Education Oatly’s Cédrine Kerbaol. A lull in the action, followed by a smart attack meant the pack was going to second. Lotte Kopecky took that, but Van Dam was right there. She’s still chasing that first big pro win, but was happy with a podium at her first Grand Tour.
“I’m really happy with this. We rode very strongly as a team and stayed close together, especially when the hilly section began. It’s always nice when you look around in the final and see several teammates. That was very motivating,” the 24-year-old pro said.
SVD moves up on GC
She now moves into fourth overall, underlining her growing GC presence early in the race. And remember, Van Dam has done well in big stage races in the overall before–last year she was fifth at the Tour of Britain.
Her superstar teammate, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes and Paris-Roubaix, is stoked to see the Canadian’s kick. Both Van Dam’s and the team’s confidence are brimming, and it shouldn’t be long before we see her on the top rung of the podium.
“I’m really happy for Sarah. We know how fast she is, but she’s starting to ride more and more like a champion. It’s lovely to see. The other girls did brilliantly today too. It didn’t result in a win just yet, but it is very promising,” PFP said.
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