After a tough Stage 2, Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig beat the yellow jersey Marianne Vos to earn the win on Tuesday. Vos kept the race lead. Simone Boilard was the top Canadian again.
You can watch the Tour de France Femmes at FloBikes.
The Course
Stage 3 was the first hilly parcours of the inaugural TdFF. The main challenges of the 133 km in champagne country came in a 24-km finishing circuit: Côte de Mutigny (900 metres at 12.2 percent) with 16 km to ride, the uncategotized bonus climb (1 km of 4.6 percent) and the 400-metre, 7.7 percent kicker to the line in Épernay.
🚲 Stage 3 / Étape 3 🚲
🚩 @VilledeReims
🏁 @villeepernay📏 133,6 km
⏰ 12:50 CEST > 16:15 CEST
⛰ 1x 3⃣c 3x 4⃣c
💚 km 112,6
🅱️ km 129,7#TDFF #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/jQ2FjnlfJ9— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 26, 2022
A few early breaks failed. Even Vos tried to dash clear in the opening 20 km. On the first categorized climb of the day, Cat. 4 Côte de Trépail, Dutch rider Femke Gerritse snagged the points to take the QOM lead from her Parkhotel Valkenburg teammate Femke Markus. Gerritse was also first to the top of Cat. 4 Côte de Vertus 60 km later. She had to keep scrapping with Elise Chabbey on all the early climbs.
Heading into the final 40 km, Canyon-SRAM rider Alena Amialiusik led solo with several women trying to bridge over, mostly individually.
⚡️ @amialiusik went solo. 🇮🇹Letizia Borghesi is chasing behind her.
⚡️ @amialiusik est sortie en solitaire. Derrière elle, 🇮🇹Letizia Borghesi sort en contre. #TDFF #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/tzSYGlcIjd
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 26, 2022
The peloton pulled Amialiusik within touching distance by Côte de Mutigny. Anna van Vleuten, Vos, and Demi Vollering all made the 11-rider selection on the steep grades. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s acceleration dropped Vos. Vollering was leading when she crashed in a corner.
Van Vleuten, Elisa Longo Borghini, Moolman-Pasio, Mavi Garcia and Silvia Persico continued on in the front. Vos led the chase and the two groups came together with 7 km to go. None of the 11 riders could jump away from the others.
At the bonus sprint atop Mont Bernon Longo-Borghini nabbed 3 seconds. Van Vleuten was distanced. Three and a half kilometres remainined, with a long descent leading to the day’s climax.
A nontet approached the finale on the cobbles. Van Vleuten made it back….
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