Monday, June 17, 2024 at 4:53 pm
Navy Bradbury won the third stage of the Women's Tour of Switzerland. The 22-year-old Australian achieved her first professional victory in Champagne, after remaining in the attack for a long time with her colleague Katarzyna Niyoadoma. The pair crossed the line hand in hand. Demi Wohlring managed to retain the leader's jersey in a hotly contested stage.
After two stages, it appears that the cards for the Women's Tour of Switzerland have already been shuffled. Today, Demi Wohlring started the penultimate stage from Vevey to Champagne with a huge lead of about a minute and a half over the Italian riders Elisa Longo Borghini and Gaia Realini. Over 125.6 kilometres, there were 2000 vertical meters and four official ascents awaiting you, with the summit of the final climb (4.4 kilometers at 6.8%) fourteen kilometers from the end.
A powerful and dangerous leadership group
In the opening stage, two riders rode in front of the peloton for a while. Italian Elena Pironi (Roland) and Australian Neve Bradbury (Canyon // SRAM Racing) found each other in their attacking drive and were able to establish a maximum lead of half a minute. They didn't get any more and that was no surprise: Bradbury started the day ninth in the world rankings, less than four minutes behind leader Demi Wohlring.
Less than fifty kilometers later, Pironi and Bradbury were joined by three riders who had previously counterattacked. And the names were not the least, with Katarzyna Niyadoma (Canyon // SRAM Racing), Amanda Spratt (Liddell Trek) and Visma | Bike rental newcomer Femke de Vries. Spratt's presence in the front group was interesting: the Australian came seventh in the classification, 3'28″ behind Fullering.
Photo: Cor Foss
SD Worx-Protime should start working
In short, SD Worx-Protime was cautioned, but allowed the lead of the five leaders to increase by about three minutes. In other words, Spratt flirted with the leader's yellow jersey and this was a signal for Fullering's teammates to open up the throttle a little. Mischa Bredewold in particular was allowed to do the dirty work in the largely weakened peloton, although she received support over time from Niamh Fisher-Black and Femke Gerritse.
This made little difference, because the gap with De Vries, Nyoyedoma, Spratt, Bradbury and Pironi became increasingly larger. With only thirty kilometers remaining, the escapee's lead was more than three minutes for the first time, and they could seriously start dreaming of a stage victory. And in the case of Spratt and Bradbury: the leader's shirt. There was cause for (slight) panic within the SD Worx-Protime camp, but the team received help from an unexpected source.
Amazing on the final climb
The DSM-firmenich PostNL team decided to provide assistance in the chase in the run-up to the final climb of the day (4.4 km at 6.8%) to Vaugondry. The Dutch brigade's commander, Juliette Labus, saw her fifth position in the rankings threatened, which was a reason why DSM-firmenich PostNL came out on top. As they combined forces, more and more of the lead was reduced, but Niewiadoma and his teammates started the day's shots with a good lead of more than two minutes.
The lead group split up on the slopes of the climb up to Fogundre led by Canyon//SRAM. Niewiadoma took the lead ahead of the better placed Bradbury and held off Pirrone, Spratt and De Vries. Meanwhile, all hands were on deck in the peloton. Lapus decided to exorcise her demons and narrowed the favorites to six contestants, but then faced a counter from Fullering.
Photo: Cor Foss
Vollering saves the furniture, 1-2 for Canyon//SRAM
SD leader Worx-Protime decided to impose a tight pace towards the summit and only three riders were able to catch them: Longo Borghini, Realini and Kim Cadzow. Clearly, Fullering was busy securing her yellow shirt and therefore did not call for help. This doesn't seem necessary, as the difference at the top of the climbs with the Canyon//SRAM duo has already shrunk to a minute and a half. In other words, Vollering still has plenty of room in the flat final ten kilometres.
But she was no longer qualified to win the stage, as Bradbury and Nyoyadoma successfully completed the doubles trial until the end. They even managed to extend their lead in the final kilometers, as cooperation between the pursuers was far from optimal. So the two leaders stayed in front and had plenty of time to decide who would cross the line first. Bradbury was allowed to beat the experienced Niewiadoma and thus scored her first professional win.
Femke de Vries' late trousers impress
Then we had to wait about two minutes for the arrival of the first pursuers, De Vries and Spratt, who had just managed to stay out of the group's grasp with Fullering and Longo Borghini. The 30-year-old de Vries – who two years ago decided to leave her part-time job in geriatrics to pursue a career as a professional cyclist – defeated Spratt in the sprint and finished third. Vollering later crossed the finish line in sixth place and remains at the top of the general classification with one stage remaining.
🚴🇨🇠| A true coup from Canyon/SRAM. Nevy Bradbury can get her first win from her colleague Nyoyadoma! #tds24
📺 You can watch the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/YTtNYaUm1Z
– Eurosport Netherlands (@Eurosport_NL) June 17, 2024
