Third top 10 in a row for Silvia Persico who, escorted by Eleonora Gasparrini, closes with the best of the standings confirming herself in second place in the general
After the second place of Provins and the fourth of Epernay, another place among the ten for Silvia Persico, who in the stage characterized by white roads closes in seventh place, passing under the finish line in the company of all the other women in the classification. A placement that allows her to remain in second place in the general classification, 16 ”from the yellow jersey Marianne Vos.
In what was the stage characterized by four stretches of dirt road (about 9 km in total), the athletes also faced six cotes, some of which were very demanding. An up and down among the fiery and dusty vineyards in the Great East region that blew up the group 48 km from the finish. Headguard reduced to about twenty units, with the ranking athletes who preferred not to set fire to the powders but to continue compact, trying to keep a teammate by their side to prevent problems in case of punctures.
And, for Silvia Persico, the presence of a great Eleonora Gasparrini was fundamental. The young Piedmontese, despite the problems with her right wrist injured during the second stage, gritted her teeth while remaining next to her partner and finishing in 22nd place with the same time as Silvia.
Close up of Eleonora Gasparrini – Twila Muzzi
“I never expected to be so comfortable,” confirms Eleonora, who shortly before the departure had confided how much her hand had hurt in the third stage. «To avoid trouble, I tried to get ahead of the dirt roads by running away, but Movistar canceled our attempt. At that point I thought it would be hard, but her hand, which we wrapped in a different way than yesterday, didn’t create too many problems for me, allowing me to stay with Silvia until the finish line ».
Which would not be possible without a more than good condition.
“Even if I have not raced in the last few weeks being involved in the Mediterranean Games and the Under 23 European Championships on road and track, the form is there. I worked a lot, even when I was in Portugal, to prepare for the Tour. That’s why I’m sorry for how the second stage went. But ruminating is useless: now let’s think about the next steps trying to do our best ».
Tomorrow, on paper, a stage that should not upset the general classification, but that will certainly remain in the legs of the athletes: with its 176 km, the Bar le Duc – Saint Dié des Vosges will be the longest stage ever faced by the athletes in a World Tour test.
