On the final day of the Madrid Challenge, the peloton was given a criterion of 17 laps through the streets of the Spanish capital. Bonus seconds could be earned every two laps, just like at the finish. Leader Lisa Brennauer, yesterday the strongest in the time trial, had to keep an eye on Elisa Longo Borghini and Lorena Wiebes. It was immediately clear that the Dutch intended to gather as many bonus seconds as possible on the road, but Brennauer was also active in the battle for seconds. Longo Borghini took a different approach. The Italian tried to get Brennauer in trouble with an escape, which meant that the German team had to work hard. Longo Borghini was caught by the peloton at 13 km from the finish. In the sprint, Wiebes seemed to be heading for victory, but in the final meters, Elisa Balsamo came over. Final winner Lisa Brennauer crossed the line in 7th. The road season is now over for the UCI women too, hopefully, we can restart the 2021 season with some sort of normality and a full program to go with it…a thank you to Sporza website for the info I used to report on the event.
(Stage 3 top 10) 1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) 100 km in 2’16″49″
2. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) @ s/t
3. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) “
4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) “
5. Silvia Zanardi (Ita) “
6. Barbara Guarischi (Ita) “
7. Lisa Brennauer (Dui) “
8. Sandra Alonso (Spa) “
9. Jelena Eric (Ser) “
10. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) “
Final General Classification
1. Lisa Brennauer (Dui) in 4h 29’21”
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) @ 12″
3. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) @ 13″
4. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) @ 31″
5. Leah Kirchmann (Can) @ 42″
6. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) @ 44″
7. Sarah Roy (Aus) @ 46″
8. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) @ 52″
9. Alice Barnes (GBr) @ s/t
10. Mieke Kröger (Dui) @ 57″
