Van Vleuten delivers second straight win for team

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A successful breakaway saw Dutch rider Annemiek Van Vleuten (Nederland Bloeit) not only win the Route de France’s Stage 3, but extend her general classification lead. Wearing the orange jersey of race leader Van Vleuten held off seven remaining breakaway riders in a small sprint as the race arrived in Cloyes Sur Le Loir.

The breakaway quickly gained one minute on the peloton as 14 riders went clear early on the 115.8 kilometre stage. After a stage long breakaway one day earlier Anne Samplonius (Canada) was a surprise inclusion in the break, however even more surprising was the presence of race leader Van Vleuten.

With riders like Judith Arndt (HTC – Columbia Women) and Sarah Düster (Cervelo Test Team) in the lead group it had good odds of survival from the outset. Both women had team-mates in the move, including Adrie Visser and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg for HTC while Charlotte Becker and Elizabeth Armitstead were there for Cervelo, only adding to the odds of survival.

The move was compromised however when a crash took down Arndt and Becker. Teammates of the pair worked to get them back into the lead group, as the leaders eased the pace slightly to help.

Arndt stayed with the lead group to the finish line, taking fourth place behind Van Vleuten, Sara Mustonen (Hitec Products UCK) and Armitstead. Australian National Team rider Amanda Spratt was the last to remain with the lead group in eighth place, before the remnants of the move trickled in up to two minutes behind.

Spratt’s teammate Kirsty Broun led the peloton across the line as it rolled in more than three minutes behind the stage winner. The group included Stage 2 winner Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit), who dropped from second overall to 15th as a result.

Van Vleuten now leads the race by 21 seconds over Düster, while Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaia (Safi - Pasta Zara) sits in third place at 28 seconds. Great Britain’s Armitstead moved up in to fourth overall at 34 seconds and continues to lead the young rider classification.