Nikola Bajgerova dominated the third stage of the Tour de Feminin, four Czechs in the elite ten
The leader of the competition Julie Kopecky from the Belgian AG Insurance finished just below the podium in fourth place, Barbora Němcová from Prague Dukla finished sixth and her teammate Adéla Marková eighth. Kopecky remains in yellow, while the second best Czech before Sunday's final race is thirteenth-placed Nemcova.
For the 27-year-old Bajgerova, the stage triumph at the Tour de Feminin is one of the biggest of her career. "You could say that and especially in the Czech Republic. I fulfilled what I said before the stage that I wanted a podium here and to have won is even better," Bajgerova said after finishing the stage and moving up to 23rd overall.
She added that her fellow Polish riders helped her significantly. "The whole stage was on me, it was arranged. The girls did what they were supposed to do and I thank them for that," added the Czech representative.
"I thought it would be decided on the last summit finish (8 kilometres before the finish), but the rain slowed down a lot. The girls helped me a lot and left it to me at the end," Bajgerová thanked her team. She beat two Dutch women in the spurt: Mirre Knaven of AG Insurance, who rode 80 kilometres in a solo breakaway the day before, and Femke de Vries, silver on Friday, of the Krush Rebelease formation
The stage was ridden in variable meteorological conditions. The sun and dryness were alternated by wind and rain, often with heavy showers. In the second of the circuits, which followed the route of the traditional amateur race Tour de Zeleňák and which leads through the towns and villages of the Šluknov region, the competitors were hit by such heavy rain that the judges cancelled the second sprinter's premium in Mikulášovice.
The racers did not escape falls in the difficult conditions that prevailed for the second day in a row. Six of them fell at the entrance to the second circuit at the roundabout in Rumburk, others got scrapes after another collision at the exit from Vilémov.
Nineteen-year-old Czech Julie Kopecky remains in the leader's yellow jersey and had her sights set on triumphing in every stage, something that was only done once by Germany's Trixi Worrack 14 years ago.
"It's a pity it didn't work out, maybe next year," smiled the likeable racer. Kopecky also holds the green jersey for the best female cyclist in the points competition, the white jersey for the best female rider under 23 and the jersey in the national colours as the best Czech. Mirre Knaven will defend the polka-dotted climber's jersey in the final stage, adding to her three triumphs in the climbing premiums on Friday with three more on Saturday.
The final stage starts at 10am on Sunday in Varnsdorf and covers 114.6 kilometres. It will lead through the Lusatian Mountains and the finish is in Krásná Lípa. The race will continue with 107 of the original 139 competitors at the start of the opening time trial.
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