Haugset takes Tour Femmes yellow with astonishing solo victory on stage 3
Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) claimed victory on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes in Poligny after winning from the breakaway and took the yellow jersey
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Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) took the win on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes in Poligny from the breakaway, with Lotto Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) finishing second at 1:24.
Yellow jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) lost contact on the Col de la Faucille, surrendering the race lead in the process
With under 25km remaining, the general classification battle erupted behind the early breakaway with a series of explosive attacks that shattered the chasing group of favourites, which eventually rooled in more than two minutes down on Haugset.
Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance - Soudal) initiated the moves on the steepest ramps of the final classified climb, drawing out Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez), Femke de Vries (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike).
It all came back together behind the front two with 13km to go as a group of 26 chased, to no avail.
Haugset held on to take the victory and assumed the yellow jersey ahead of Stage 4's individual time trial.
How it unfolded
A breakaway formed early with Lotte Kopecky, Nienke Vinke (SD Worx-Protime), Lucinda Brand, Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Liane Lippert (Movistar), Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), Yara Kastelijn, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Célia Gery (FDJ United - SUEZ), Femke de Vries (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), and Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility).
The peloton then crossed from Switzerland into France amid temperatures of 36°C. Four riders, Demi Vollering, Noemi Rüegg, Puck Pieterse, and Magdeleine Vallieres, crashed early on, but all four rejoined the field before the base of the Col de la Faucille.
On the 11.6km climb, the gradient split the peloton, dropping race leader Lorena Wiebes as 11 riders moved clear over the top and across the Côte de Lajoux.
Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset launched a solo attack over the Col de la Savine, opening a gap of over five minutes on the main field.
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) launched a counter-chase from the reduced group, bringing Haugset's margin down inside the final 30km.
The general classification battle was ingited by Le Court on the final climb, with Vollering, Gery, De Vries and Ferrand-Prévot all prominent.
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) then launched a counter-attack, forcing Vollering to respond immediately. The acceleration put Ferrand-Prévot under pressure, with the French rider struggling to maintain the pace as the group fractured.
With less than 20km to go, the Norwegian rider still maintained a 30-second advantage.
The general classification group reformed into a 26-rider group with 13km to go. Riders previously distanced on the climb, including Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and the group led by Paula Blasi (UAE), reconnected with Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma, and the pace really let up.
Haugset held Kopecky off and stormed to a perfect victory to take the stage win and the yellow jersey.
Result: Tour de France Femmes stage 3
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