Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) not only outsprinted all her rivals in the reduced peloton in a thrilling dash to the line, but also the remaining breakaway rider Urška Žigart (Team Jayco Alula) who was caught just a few metres before the finish. The yellow Leader Jersey of Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser was never in danger.
It is every breakaway rider’s nightmare: Urška Žigart’s lead looked strong for such a long time but with about 50 metres to go the Slovenian was overtaken. For the winner, Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini, the joy was all the greater, as she sailed past to win from the slipstream. “This is the biggest success of my career. I can’t really believe it because I suffered a lot during the stage. I often thought of my grandfather, who passed away a few weeks ago. I would like to dedicate this victory to him”.
A Fast Race with a Spectacular Finish
A total of 101 riders started Stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse Women, the longest of the four-day tour at 120.8 kilometres. A fast pace was set on the hilly course and it took almost two hours before a breakaway formed. Six riders opened up a maximum lead of about one minute but the team of GC leader Marlen Reusser (Team SD Worx) kept the race situation under control at all times. Urška Žigart’s attack from the front at about 12 kilometres before the finish looked promising, but the chasing group of about 35 riders stopped the Slovenian a few metres before the finish. Finishing eighth with the same time as the winner, Marlen Reusser defended her yellow jersey ahead of the final stage tomorrow. It promises to be an exciting one: only 18 seconds separate the top three riders, Marlen Reusser, Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo).
«Queen Stage» to Conclude the Four-Day Tour de Suisse Women
On the final day of the women’s edition of the Tour de Suisse, the riders tackle a circuit in and around Toggenburg with start and finish in today’s Host City of Ebnat-Kappel. The profile of the stage is even more hilly than today’s (a total of 1803 metres of altitude difference over 100.8 kilometres) and includes a 1st Category QOM (Wintersbergstrasse) at the halfway point of the race. After that, the riders’ legs should be warmed up for the exciting series of loops around the finish, featuring a 2nd Category QOM per lap to be completed three times.
