(Montreal) The third stage of the Tour of Spain pushed back many cyclists on Wednesday in the provisional general classification of the competition. Olivia Baril and her teammates from the UAE Team ADQ team took advantage of this, so much so that the Quebecer now occupies 20th place, 1 minute and 3 seconds from the lead.
Italian Erica Magnaldi and New Zealander Mikayla Harvey, from the same team, closely follow her in 21st and 22nd place with the same cumulative time.
On Wednesday, Baril finished 11th in the 157.8 kilometer race, which ended in a bunch sprint won by Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma).
“There were levels and I was well placed. We had to stay focused for a long time, that was the real challenge of the day. Then I tried to sprint a bit but missed the positioning,” she said, noting the challenge caused by the side winds that kicked in with just under 100 kilometers to go.
A first group of around fifty runners then formed, then split again 50 kilometers from the finish.
Ranked second the day before behind the Dutch Charlotte Kool (DSM), Marianne Vos was entitled to her revenge by winning in the sprint over her compatriot. American Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM Racing) finished third for the second stage in a row.
Thanks to this victory, the leader increased her lead to 13 seconds over Dygert in the provisional general classification.
If Olivia Baril went from 41st to 20th in this ranking, many of them plummeted at the end of the longest stage of the Tour of Spain. From this lot, we find the Italian Gaia Realini, contender for the title, as well as her teammates Amanda Spratt and Elizabeth Deignant of the Trek-Segafredo formation. They were all among the top fifteen at the start of the day. They now find themselves outside the top-50.
“A lot of girls missed the first group, so that’s good for us. My team worked really well to position us well before the crosswinds,” said the cyclist from Rouyn-Noranda, satisfied with her day.
Simone Boilard (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) finished 33rd on Wednesday, the best result for her team. Magdeleine Vallières-Mill (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) and Adèle Normand (Massi – Tactic) finished 89th and 134th, respectively.
The fourth stage will take place in the mountains on Thursday, on a 133.1 kilometer course between Cuenca and Guadalajara.