Mischa Bredewold finished just second in the third stage of the Tour de Suisse on Saturday. Elisa Balsamo started celebrating early, but had a small margin at the finish line.
The third stage of the World Tour race took the peloton over 123.1 kilometers from Oberkirch to Küssnacht. Kristen Faulkner tried her luck with a long breakaway, but the American was caught about 35 kilometers from the finish line.
In the last 10 kilometers, several riders tried to break away along the Zugersee. Because none of the attempts succeeded, a sprint had to bring a winner. Balsamo and Bredewold quickly proved to be a class better than the rest of the peloton.
The Italian counted herself rich just before the finish line and started cheering, but Bredewold came dangerously underneath. After studying the finish photo, Balsamo could breathe a sigh of relief. The difference with the rider from SD Worx-Protime was only a few centimeters.
There were no changes in the general classification. Marlen Reusser starts the final stage on Sunday with a lead of 3 seconds over Demi Vollering, with the start and finish in Küssnacht. Along the way, the riders have to cross the Michaelskreuzstrasse twice (3.8 kilometers at 9.1 percent).
Lorena Wiebes was too strong for the competition in the 124.6 kilometer long 1.1 race Dwars door het Hageland. Fleur Moors became second, Millie Couzens completed the podium. It is Wiebes’ tenth victory of the season.