Sheyla Gutiérrez fights into late splits in Holland

Boels Ladies Tour (st. 3)

Spaniard from Movistar Team into reduced pursuit peloton of four-woman cut led home by Lisa Klein (CSR), new race leader in Nijverdal.

A series of splits initiated with 40km left on stage three of the Boels Ladies Tour, the longest of the race with almost 160km and six laps of a rolling circuit in Nijverdal, started a battle where the Movistar Team’s leader, Sheyla Gutiérrez, had to combat alone after being protected by her team-mates in the beginning of the day.

Gloria Rodríguez went on the attack during stage three. (c) Velofocus / Movistar Team

Following a short move by Gloria Rodríguez, the Rioja native kept the Telefónica-backed squad in the mix into a split of about 40 riders, from which four women countered with 15km left: Amy Pieters (DLT, 2nd), Lizzie Deignan (TFS, 3rd), Amanda Spratt (MTS, 4th) and the day’s winner, Lisa Klein (CSR). Sheyla’s group reached the finish twelve seconds behind.

Saturday, the peloton of Boels Ladies Tour will tackle the steep slopes (up to 13%) of the Oude Holleweg, near the end of a 135km route from Arnhem to Nijmegen.

Cover picture (c): Velofocus