On a fast and furious stage three of Ceratizit Challenge Vuelta, CANYON//SRAM Racing had a successful day with Kasia Niewiadoma finishing third on the stage and Elise Chabbey moving back into the top three in the general classification.

Stage winner and new overall leader, Annemiek van Vleuten (MOV), went ahead alone on the main climb of the day and was not able to be brought back for the rest of the stage. A chase group of eight riders formed behind with both Kasia and Elise present, meaning CANYON//SRAM Racing held an advantageous position.

“The stage was really hard from the beginning with multiples attacks, but Hannah, Tiff, Alena, and Micky were always there to cover it,” Elise said describing the efforts of her teammates during the early part of the stage.

“Kasia did an amazing downhill before the long climb and that meant the bunch was already quite split. Annemiek went from the bottom and only Kasia and Elisa (Longo Borghini) could follow.”

“I chose not to go into the red for the long climb and by the time we got to the top, we were a group of eight. We worked quite well after that. Kasia was an amazing teammate. Giving advice and helping me. She really sacrificed herself today and I can’t say thank you enough,” smiled Elise.

As van Vleuten crossed the line solo, attacks came from within Elise’s group. Kasia was able to go with the final attack of Lianne Lippert (DSM) and sprinted to the line to take third on the stage. Just a few seconds later, Elise crossed the line in seventh place and leaped back into third place on the general classification.

“Kasia finishing third on the stage, and now I’m third on GC. It was a great day, but we’ll be ready to fight tomorrow,” added Elise.

Tomorrow’s final stage will be 107 kilometres from As Pontes to Santiago de Compostela. Elise sits third in the general classification at 3:20 minutes, while CANYON//SRAM Racing currently leads the team classification.

The finale can be followed on Twitter with #CeratizitChallenge21 and #UCIWWT. A live broadcast starts at 12:00CEST on RTVE, DKTV2, TV2, Eurosport, GCN, Olympic Channel, ESPN, RTVC Senal, Supersport, SBS Australia, Zhibo TV, JSports, Sky Sport, and Flo Bikes.

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