Giro Rosa: Hannah Barnes wins stage 3

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Hannah Barnes outsprinted Lotta Lepistö (Cervelo-Bigla) and Kirsten Wild (Cylance) to the top step of the Giro Rosa stage three podium. The win in San Vendemiano is the first UCI Women's WorldTour victory for Barnes, and her first win in Canyon-SRAM colours. Barnes spent nearly eight months away from competition after a complicated ankle break sustained in August 2015 at the USA Pro Challenge. Sunday's victory is her first following her lengthy recovery.

Overnight race leader Anna Van der Breggen finished safely in the bunch to keep the maglia rosa and her 18-second advantage over Annemiek Van Vleuten (ORICA-SCOTT) in second.

"I'm a bit shocked,” Barnes told Cyclingnews. "I didn't feel great during the entire stage, and I did quite a lot of work early. I wasn't expecting to go for this sprint at all. So to not only go for it but to get it, my first WorldTour win, the team's first WorldTour win of the season. That's pretty cool.

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"I didn't think I would be here at all," Barnes added. "I only found out as I was driving to Nationals that I was racing this. Normally I take a break after Nationals. You can tell when your form is slowly going, when you're getting really tired. I felt that yesterday. If you had told me I was going to win a race here, I wouldn't have believed it."

Despite repeated early attacks during the opening hour of the 102km stage, the peloton stayed together until the day's only intermediate sprint. A Boels-Dolmans duo of Nikki Brammeier and Chantal Blaak scooped up maximum points and seconds. Lepistö came third to take the last second and point on offer.

"The first 35 kilometres were a bit nervous with a lot of attacking but nothing threatening," Alexis Ryan, Barnes' Canyon-SRAM teammate, told Cyclingnews. "The race lit up on a series of short climbs between 35 and 45 kilometres. I attacked over the top of the first one, and a small group was established, but we were chased down after a couple kilometres."

Immediately after the intermediate sprint, Ana Sanchez Sanabria (Servetto Giusta) escaped. She was unable to stretch her advantage beyond the 40-second mark and returned to the peloton in the run-in to the Muro Ca' del Poggio.

"Attacks were going left and right, and the average speed was really, really high," said Ryan. "Every team did a full lead-out into the base of Ca' del Poggio."

The second category climb split the peloton with an elite selection of eight taking shape over the top. Queen of the Mountain Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott), winner of stage 2, led Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) and Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3 Cycling) over the top of the steep wall. Race leader Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans), defending champion Megan Guarnier (Boels-Dolmans), Shara Gillow (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope), and Amanda Spratt (Orica-Scott) completed the group.

"A group of select riders crested the climb with a gap, but Elena [Cecchini] and I closed the gap on the technical descent," Ryan noted. "Elena attacked immediately upon contact with the front group and held a 15-20 second gap for several kilometres."

Cecchini returned to the peloton with 10 kilometres remaining.

"That's when the lead-out trains took over," said Ryan. "I was pretty fried by the sprint. We started our lead-out with about six kilometres for Barbie [Barbara Guarischi]. Tiff [Cromwell] and I were just keeping the pace high, but I started to crack from all the efforts during the race.

"Hannah was in front of Barbie coming into the sprint, and when Barbie realised she wouldn't be able to win, she yelled at Hannah to go," Ryan said. "And, as you do, won."

Van der Breggen finished safely in the bunch to keep the maglia rosa and her 18-second advantage over Van Vleuten in second.

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