After a valiant effort to break clear in the closing 15 kilometres along with two other riders, Liane Lippert picked up eighth on the third stage of the Lotto Thuringen Ladies Tour after being caught by the fast approaching bunch just before the line.
Starting in Schleiz, the peloton headed out onto the 116.5km rolling route and very soon the attacks started with a four rider breakaway eventually forming. As the day progressed, the weather turned for the worse and the team rallied together as the gap to the break came down. Helped by the strong winds, a chasing group of 20 riders, including Lippert, went clear and kept up a fast pace until the finale. Up the third and final QOM of the day, Lippert picked up maximum points going clear with two others before eventually being caught within sight of the line.
Team DSM Women’s programme coach Albert Timmer explained how it panned out after the finish: “I think the race happened a bit like we expected. On the long climb there was a high pace and it split but we were unlucky as some of our girls were behind a crash. But up front Liane was in a good position.
“She followed an attack on the last QOM of the day and got clear out front and they still had about 20 seconds at the bottom of the last climb but there Liane got gapped and was eventually caught just before the finish line. In the end it was not the result we earned but we raced for it and will have another chance tomorrow.”
RESULTS
Stage General classification Points classification Youth classification Mountains classification Teams classification
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRAND Lucinda | Trek-Segafredo Women | 3:18:52 | 25 |
| 2 | NORSGAARD Emma | Movistar Team | 0:02 | 20 |
| 3 | KOPECKY Lotte | Belgium | ,, | 15 |