Marianne Vos has taken the lead of the individual classification of the UCI Women’s WorldTour after victories in both the Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda WestSweden road race and the Ladies Tour of Norway, where she won all three stages.
After winning the Swedish race from a bunch sprint, the former multiple UCI World Champion confirmed her dominance in Norway. On stage one, Vos and her Waowdeals Pro Cycling Team bided their time, with the Dutchwoman winning the intermediate sprints to take the bonus seconds, before sprinting to victory ahead of a resurgent Emilia Fahlin of Wiggle High5.
The same duo occupied the top steps of the podium after the windy and rainy second stage (Fredrikstad to Sarpsborg), overhauling Canyon//SRAM Racing’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma in the closing metres.
At 154 km, the final stage was the longest, but the bunch only broke apart when it reached the closing circuits around Halden. After a string of fierce attacks Vos came out the winner for the third time.
Time trial UCI World Champions Team Sunweb were victorious in the single day team time trial which preceded the stage race.
Valcar PBM’s Chiara Consonni (12th) was the top placed youth rider in Norway, though it is her compatriot Sofia Berizzolo (Astana Women’s Team) who continues to lead the UCI Women’s WorldTour youth classification.
Boels-Dolmans Cyclingteam extend their lead over Mitchelton Scott in the teams classification.
Waowdeals Pro Cycling Team move up the ranking and now vying for third place with Team Sunweb.
Saturday August 25th, Grand Prix de Plouay Lorient Agglo Trophee WNT (France)
The French national road champion Aude Biannic, 27, is an accomplished classics rider and a strong time trialist.
This year she joined the newly-formed Movistar Team, giving her new impetus that has earned her some strong results throughout the year. Perhaps her biggest success was in June, when she took the French national rad race title and finished fourth in the time trial.
The Scandinavian races, especially the recent Ladies Tour of Norway have brought her consistency and a string of top ten results, which will give confidence for the rest of the year.
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