Lotte Kopecky sprints to second place after unleashed Kerbaol in third stage of the Vuelta Femenina

For the third stage in a row, Team SD Worx–Protime showed its strength as a team. In this Vuelta Femenina, however, that has so far not been rewarded with a victory. In the third stage, Cédrine Kerbaol escaped at exactly the right moment and went on to finish solo, while Lotte Kopecky had to settle for second place after a very strong final sprint. Sports director Christian Kos: “Things went wrong in the final two kilometers. It’s unfortunate that once again we just miss out on the win despite a strong performance from the entire team.”

Christian Kos: “We deserved a bit more after the strong teamwork in this third stage. But we let it slip in the final two kilometers. On the final two climbs we wanted to make the race hard. If it were to break and a small group stayed away, we were confident that, alongside Anna van der Breggen, we would be represented with Mischa Bredewold and/or Lotte Kopecky to finish it off. It did break, and Mischa made a very strong impression there. So we decided to play Mischa’s card for the final sprint.”

“Only Cédrine Kerbaol slipped away at the right moment, and we were not alert enough in responding to that. Lotte Kopecky led the chase and sprint for Mischa Bredewold, but Mischa got boxed in at the final roundabout, forcing her to brake and lose Lotte’s wheel. Lotte then still sprinted very strongly to second place. So the whole day went according to plan, except for the final kilometer, which is why we miss out,” Kos concludes.