German takes race lead as Pieters and Deignan round out podium
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Lisa Klein (Canyon-Sram) edges the sprint to win stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lisa Klein (Canyon-Sram) sprints to victory on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lisa Klein (Canyon-Sram) on the podium after her win(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lisa Klein (Canyon-Sram) takes over the race lead after stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
The peloton on stage 3 of the Boels Ladies Tour(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Charlotte Becker (Groupama-FDJ) leads the peloton on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
The peloton on stage 3 of the Boels Ladies Tour(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
The peloton on stage 3 of the Boels Ladies Tour(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Amy Pieters, Elisa Longo Borghini and Christine Majerus on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) leads the peloton on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Hannah Barnes (Canyon-Sram) and Amalie Dideriksen (Boels-Dolmans) on the attack on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Spratt, Klein, Deignan-Armitstead and Pieters attack late on stage 3(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lisa Klein (Canyon-Sram) took both the win and race lead in Nijverdal on stage 3 of the Boels Ladies Tour. The German beat Amy Pieters (Boels-Dolmans), Elizabeth Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) and Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) in a four-up sprint to the line.
The quartet broke away over a climb in the latter stages of the race, and held a small gap over the peloton as they closed in on the finish. It was enough though, with the four women able to contest the sprint without worrying about those behind catching them.
In the end, it was a close-run thing, with Klein edging out Pieters on the line just ahead of Deignan. The victory is the 23-year-old's seventh of the season, and puts her in pole position to add an eighth should she manage to hang on to her slim overall lead for two more stages.
"I made it over in the last small climb and when we were in four coming into the last 10km, then I was working hard to make that stay away," Klein said in a team statement after the race. "In the final kilometre I tried to get a gap in a corner, but the other three were able to come back.
"I then started the sprint first, and although Amy and Lizzie came past me, I was able to come back again. It was great to get this reward for the team!
"It was a massive team effort and everyone one of us worked so hard! The team did a fantastic job and I am so pleased to be able to finish that off. I have to thank them for their work."
Klein leads the race by two seconds ahead of former leader Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg). Stage 4 runs from Arnhem to Nijmegen and features a testing climb in the closing kilometres.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
