Canadian riders took control of Stage 3 at the Tour de l’Abitibi Glencore féminin on Sunday, with Raphaëlle Houde crossing the line first after a 93-km urban circuit through Val-d’Or.
Her national teammate Élodie Malois finished second, ahead of Norway’s Marte Dolven, who earned a third consecutive podium finish.
An early crash kept the peloton tight through the opening 35 km before Malois launched a solo attack. She built a sizeable gap until Houde bridged up around the 65-km mark. From there, the two Canadians worked together to hold off the chase and arrived at the finish 51 seconds ahead of the bunch.
“We worked together all the way to the end. It was a really great experience,” Malois said after the stage. “The further into the race we get, the better I feel. I have a good feeling about tomorrow’s race.”
Malois now leads the general classification and wears the best young rider jersey, while Dolven retains her climber and sprinter classifications.
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