Lily Williams sprinted to sixth place after a 112 km breakaway on stage 3 of the Simac Ladies Tour, having taken advantage of the Netherlands’ characteristic high winds to join an elite lead group of 17.
The result sees the Olympic gold medalist climb to fifth on the general classification at the end of the 160.1 km stage around Zeewolde.
“I’ve had a really good and consistent season, and I’m still feeling like I have a bit to give,” the 31-year-old said afterwards. “The TT on Saturday really suits me, so I think the biggest focus will be continuing to make the splits in the wind during the final two road stages.”
Yesterday’s stage 2 also saw winds tear through the peloton. On that occasion, having finished eighth on stage 1 in Leuven, Williams missed the move, a mistake she was not about to let herself repeat. This time around, her rouleur strengths counted.
“I was disappointed to miss the echelon yesterday,” she says. “I felt I had the legs for it, but just couldn’t get into position, so I went into today with full focus on being ready when it started. Romy put me in a great position, and when it split, everyone rolled through the whole day.”
This cooperation from the group meant that the breakaway gained seven minutes and 45 seconds on the peloton, with Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime) winning her third stage in a row.
There’s still plenty of racing action to come at the Simac Ladies Tour after its midpoint. There is a chance for another windsplit race tomorrow before a weekend that contains a crucial individual time trial and a gravel-laden final stage.
“Focusing on GC is something new to me,” explains Williams. “I’m a bit nervous, but looking forward to doing something different, and I’m enjoying myself and these flat stages.
Photos: GettySport
Simac Ladies Tour stage 3 results
1 WIEBES Lorena – Team SD Worx – Protime 3:40:01
2 JASTRAB Megan – Team Picnic PostNL ”
3 DIDERIKSEN Amalie – Cofidis Women Team ”
4 VEENHOVEN Nienke – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
5 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team ADQ ”
6 WILLIAMS Lily – Human Powered Health ”
7 FERGUSON Cat – Movistar Team ”
8 VAN DER WOLF Babette – EF Education-Oatly ”
9 LE NET Marie – FDJ – SUEZ ”
10 BALSAMO Elisa – Lidl – Trek ”
General Classification after stage 3
1 WIEBES Lorena – Team SD Worx – Protime 8:33:35
2 JASTRAB Megan – Team Picnic PostNL 0:20
3 BALSAMO Elisa – Lidl – Trek 0:24
4 VIGIÉ Margaux – Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:30
5 WILLIAMS Lily – Human Powered Health 1:14
6 FERGUSON Cat – Movistar Team ”
7 VAN DER WOLF Babette – EF Education-Oatly ”
8 NOOIJEN Lieke – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
9 VEENHOVEN Nienke – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
10 SCHWEINBERGER Christina – Fenix-Deceuninck ”
