Baloise Ladies Tour turns orange in Knokke-Heist
In the morning the riders started in Cadzand in the Netherlands for the third stage of the five-day stage race. The Dutch Lorena Wiebes started the course of 82 kilometers as leader in the classification after she already proved to be the strongest in the sprint on Thursday and Friday.
Jeanne Koorevaar and Clara Lundmark are the brave women who try to escape. With Team DSM led by leader Wiebes, the peloton is chasing the escapees and their adventure is over with nine kilometers from the finish. Lorena Wiebes can therefore sprint with force majeure to her third victory in a row before the Dutch Amber van der Hulst and the Italian Letizia Paternoster.
Steam train Van Dijk
With 20 seconds ahead of her compatriot Ellen Van Dijk, Wiebes is firmly in the leader’s jersey for the time trial that starts in the afternoon and ends in Knokke-Heist. Van Dijk is the world time trial champion and will be presented with a longer course than the prologue she dominated in Utrecht. The specialist in the section outclasses the opposition and puts an end to Wiebes’ winning streak. At 35 years old, she still thunders like a steam train and also conquers the leader’s jersey.
Julie Sap is the best West Flemish in the time trial, but is two and a half minutes slower than Van Dijk. In the general classification she is on the 27thste place. The last ride is scheduled for Sunday. It is 120 kilometers long and the start and finish are in Deinze.