Swede Caroline Andersson climbed to a strong third place on the demanding uphill finish to stage three of the Tour of Britain.
The 25-year-old Liv AlUla Jayco rider dug deep on the steep and narrow slopes of the Great Orme to catapult herself into fourth place overall, level on time with third placed Lorena Wiebes with two stages remaining.
At 104km, stage three was the shortest of the five-day race, but it would pack a punch at the end. Following gloomy skies on the opening two dies, the sun shone down on the rider who made the most of it with plenty of attacks from the off.
Both Andersson and Liv AlUla Jayco teammate Quinty Ton were caught up in a crash inside the final 50 kilometres as the race exploded. It was a tough chase for the pair to make it back to the whittled down bunch, but they were in place when it mattered as the race rolled through Llandudno and into lower slopes of the Great Orme.
The stage always looked set for a showdown on the final ascent to the finish line on the Welsh coast, and so it proved as a reduced peloton hit the lower slopes. Kim Le Court-Pienaar made her race winning move inside 3km to go, while behind Andersson and the rest of the bunch battled the double-digit gradients.
The race was decimated on the climb with riders crossing the lines in one and twos as Andersson crossed the line in third place to move into GC podium contention with two stages left to race.
Caroline Andersson
“Right now, I have mixed emotions. In one way, I’m a bit disappointed because I tactically made a mistake at the bottom of the climb, but in another way it’s relief to know that my legs are really there. I owe everything to Quinty Ton today. We were both caught behind in a crash and without her I would never have made it back. She did the most fantastic job. I’m super happy she’s my teammate and I think this is a good day for the team.”
Tour of Britain – Stage 3 Results
1. Kim Le Court-Pienaar 2:46:10
2. Lianne Lippert +0:13
3. Caroline Andersson (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:20
