Klein secures first-ever stage race win at Healthy Ageing Tour

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Lisa Klein (Canyon-SRAM) took her first-ever stage race overall win on Sunday at the Healthy Ageing Tour in the Netherlands. The 22-year-old German rider won the title by eight seconds over Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) and by 31 seconds ahead of Kirsten Wild (WNT-Rotor). 

"I'm overwhelmed and incredibly happy. I still really can't believe it. My first victory as a professional [that wasn't a prologue or youth jersey] and it's a stage race win," Klein said in a team statement.

Klein took the overall lead of the four-day, five-stage race after placing second to Van Dijk in the stage 4a time trial on Saturday, fulfilling a major goal. "I came into this tour with the goal of winning the ITT stage. It was ambitious, but that's what I had in my mind. In the end, my second place there set me up for this stage race win. I'm ecstatic," Klein said.

With help from her teammates, she defended the lead in the remaining two road stages, stage 4b on Saturday afternoon and stage 5 on Sunday.

"We were a small team, but I'm really proud of my teammates," Klein said. "It's the first time I've been in a position of wearing a leader's jersey on the final stage and having to defend it. I have to admit, I was nervous and probably impatient at times today which wasted some energy. But in the end we made it."

The team's Christa Riffel and newcomer Ella Harris crashed in the opening stage. Harris is scheduled to have surgery to correct a broken collarbone this week.