Sigrid Haugset of Norway won stage three of the Tour de France Femmes on Monday, completing a remarkable solo breakaway that lasted the final 85km of the 156.5km stage. She finished in 4h 5min 59sec, with Lotte Kopecky crossing the line 1min 24sec behind after her own solo effort.
Haugset's heroic ride
The 27-year-old Uno-X Mobility rider pulled clear of the peloton with 85km to go and held off the chasing pack, which included Kopecky, to take the stage win. The victory puts Haugset in the yellow jersey, with the race leader's group finishing more than 10 minutes behind.
Haugset's effort was the longest successful solo break in the history of the race, surpassing Fabiana Luperini's 1995 feat, according to TNT Sports. The stage, which started in Geneva and ended in Poligny, featured four categorised climbs and about 2,500m of elevation gain.
Kopecky's chase
Kopecky, of Team SD Worx-Protime, launched her own attack in pursuit of Haugset, narrowing the gap to 10 seconds at one point, but Haugset extended her lead on the final descent. Marianne Vos won the sprint for third place.
Puck Pieterse secured the polka dot jersey after being first over the Col de la Savine, ahead of Nikola Noskova. The stage also saw the abandonment of Dina Boels, who was last after yesterday's stage.
