Fastest in the bunch sprint, Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx–Protime) won the third stage at the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche.
The victory was bittersweet after her teammate and overnight leader, Lotte Kopecky, was forced to abandon due to an early-race crash.
Bredewold took the day's victory ahead of Amber Kraak (FDJ–Suez) and with her Team SD Worx–Protime teammate Marta Lach taking third place in Pernes-les-Fontaines.
Eleonora Ciabocco (Team Picnic PostNL), who was second in stage 1 behind Kopecky and so started the day in second place overall, now leads the overall classification as the race heads into stage 4 on Friday.
"I had my sights set on a victory this week. We wanted to get the most out of it with Team SD Worx-Protime. In the first stage, I had a feeling that Lotte Kopecky might have a very good day, and I was super happy that she finished it off. I was also pleasantly surprised with my own performance, finishing third on such a steep final climb. So I went into today's stage feeling good. When Lotte had given up, it was a real bummer. She had just got back into a good rhythm and then she had a crash at a bad moment. When we heard the news that she had to abandon, we wanted to win even more for Lotte," Bredewold said.
"On the climb, I was on my own, and there were several attempts to attack. I couldn't respond to everything and had to take a gamble. I tried to get some momentum going in the chase, but there wasn't much response. Fortunately, my teammates came back very quickly on the descent and did a fantastic job in the chase. There was a lot of headwind, so I am very grateful to them for getting everything back together. Now it was up to me. I just had to finish it off for the team.
“A sprint like that after a long descent suits me well. I wanted to win a stage and ride a good time trial. At least one goal has been ticked off. I'm happy with the good feeling I have this season. I'm curious to see how tomorrow's time trial will go. Being able to ride in red, white and blue again is extra motivation. Am I thinking about the general classification? Of course, it's in the back of my mind, but I'm taking it day by day. A strong time trial would be a good start. So let's focus on that first."
After the cancellation of stage 2 due to protests on Wednesday, the racing continued with stage 3 from Avignon to Pernes-les-Fontaines.
The 119km course set the peloton along flat, valley roads before three back-to-back climbs: the 10.3km Col de Murs, the 7.2km Col de la Ligne, and the shorter 500m Col d'Unang before a descent to the finish line.
Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx–Protime) lined up as the overall race leader after winning stage 1; however, the World Champion crashed in the first 35km of the race, just before the sprint at Sorgues, and was forced to abandon.
Team SD Worx–Protime has not yet released a medical update.
Kopecky had just restarted her season after suffering from back pain at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France Femmes, disrupting her summer stage racing plans.
While she made the difficult decision not to defend her title at the upcoming UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, she had returned to track racing in Prague, where she won the omnium, elimination, and points race during the two-day UCI event before lining up at the Tour de l'Ardèche.
On the main climb of the day, the Col de Murs, Nina Buijsman (FDJ–Suez) and Lauren Dickson (Handsling–Alba Development Road Team) attacked, but the pair were caught over the top.
Evita Muzic (FDJ–Suez) and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv–AlUla–Jayco) counterattacked and gained roughly 20 seconds on the peloton led by UAE Team ADQ.
While Marta Cavalli (Team Picnic PostNL) gave chase, she was not able to bridge the gap, and the leading duo crested the final climb, Col d'Unang, before dropping down toward the final kilometres of the race.
With only 10 seconds in hand, the pair were eventually caught inside the final 3km, as the sprinters in the peloton turned their attention to the final stretch, with Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx–Protime) taking the stage victory.
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