Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-ProTime) took the win on stage 3(Image credit: Getty Images)
Peloton starting stage 3 from Police Museum Al Ain to Jebel Hafeet (Image credit: Getty Images)
Marie Le Net (FDJ Suez) attacked early in the stage(Image credit: Getty Images)
Peloton races by the sand dunes on stage 3 from Police Museum Al Ain to Jebel Hafeet(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gladys Verhulst-Wild (FDJ Suez) and Linda Zanetti (Human Powered Health) in the breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images)
Leader into the stage Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-ProTime) leads the peloton climbing to Jebel Hafeet (Image credit: Getty Images)
Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) was among the riders to kick off the attacking from the peloton at 8km out(Image credit: Getty Images)
Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram) is chased by Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-ProTime) (Image credit: Getty Images)
SD Worx-ProTime riders Barbara Guarischi, Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes after stage 3 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-ProTime) takes over the red leader’s jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) dug deep to win stage 3 of the UAE Tour Women, reeling in and passing Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) to triumph atop Jebel Hafeet and race into the leader's jersey.
The world champion came from behind after Bradbury's attack 2.9km from the finish of the stage, gradually riding back to the Australian's wheel before shooting past late on to take her first win of the season. Mavi Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) rounded out the podium, finishing solo at 31 seconds down.
Kopecky had made her way across to Bradbury just 600 metres from the line, immediately heading to the front of the select group to set up the finish. In the end, her burst of speed in the final 200 metres was too much for her rival, so she pushed on to grab her first win of the 2024 season and with it the race lead.
"It's the first one ever," Kopecky said of the first summit finish stage victory of her career. "Crazy. I was really motivated and wanted to see how far I could go on this climb. I dreamed of winning this stage and to do it is very good for the confidence."
"I went kilometre by kilometre because I know on this climb your legs always hurt. In 30 seconds it can go from a good rhythm to blowing up, When the Canyon girl went, I was in a bit of a panic but I could find my rhythm. I came closer again and it looked like I could make it."
"We are here for preparation to go into Classics season so it's good for confidence to know the shape is good and that we can improve more."
How it unfolded
At the Police Museum in the centre of Al Ain, a sizeable crowd saw the peloton off for a 128-kilometre stage culminating in the finishing climb to Jebel Hafeet, 10.8 kilometres with an altitude gain of 928 metres, much of the climb having a gradient of more than 8%, the steepest ramp at 11% three kilometres from the finish line.
Aude Biannic (Movistar Team) was the first rider to break away after 15 km of racing, and Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez) tried to go on a solo chase, but they were both caught again soon. Le Net attacked a second time with 103 km to go, and this time she got away, building a lead of over a minute.
The Frenchwoman won the first intermediate sprint at the UAE University after 39.7 km while Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) beat Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes (both Team SD Worx-Protime) to the two-second bonification still up for grabs.
Linda Zanetti (Human Powered Health) bridged to Le Net after the intermediate sprint, but the gap was now down to ten seconds, and the two riders were quickly reeled in again. Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) slipped away, and Zanetti went after her.
When Gladys Verhulst-Wild (FDJ-Suez) bridged to the front duo, a group of three was formed and the peloton was happy to give a long line, with the breakaway’s advantage reaching 6:24 minutes before the chase began in earnest.
Two crashes took down Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck), Elena Hartmann, Maggie Coles-Lyster (both Roland), Cristina Tonetti and two of her Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi teammates and Claire Steels (Movistar Team) while SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek took to the front of the bunch, quickly reducing the breakaway’s advantage.
When Verhulst-Wild led Zanetti and Eraso through the second intermediate sprint in the Green Mubazzarah just before the start of the Jebel Hafeet climb, their gap had fallen to 3:30 minutes.
Verhulst-Wild went solo towards the bottom of the climb, hoping to push on and hold off the charging peloton for the win. However, with the likes of SD Worx-Protime leading the chase, with double-stage winner Lorena Wiebes among the workers, it was always likely to end with a showdown of the GC favourites.
Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) was among the riders to kick off the attacking from the peloton at 8km out, eventually leading the selection of a small group of favourites emerging at the head of the race.
The group, which included Kopecky, Bradbury, Garcia, and Realini's teammate, 2023 champion Elisa Longo Borghini, went on to catch and pass Verhulst-Wild 6.5km from the line to set up a grand finale on the mountain.
Longo Borghini was the first to drop back, 6km from the top, though it wasn't until Bradbury's acceleration at 2.9km from the line that the first major attack came. Behind her, Kopecky, Garcia, and Realini chased one by one, with the Belgian leading the way behind.
She'd make her way back across eventually, grinding away to bring the gap down metre by metre on the uphill run towards the line. She joined Bradbury at the front just 600 metres from the finish and hit the front of the duo before pressing on towards the line with a late burst of speed to secure the stage and the race lead.
Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.
