Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 2020 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

November 8, 2020

Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 2020 – Stage 3 – Madrid – Madrid : 98,6 km

Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta has moved from it’s traditional September spot on the Women’s WorldTour calendar and will now take place from November 6-8 and will include three stages. The UCI announced the revised-late season calendar in May as a result of COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and although there have been some cancellations since then, the Women’s WorldTour has retained 15 of the original 22 events. It will now include four stage races and 11 one-day races. In its three first editions (2015, 2016 and 2017), the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, consisted of one circuit race stage through Madrid’s city centre. In 2018 and 2019, the race added a new time trial stage that took place in the locality of Boadilla del Monte. The 2020 edition will be the first time the event hosts three consecutive stages.

Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) has won the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, defending her 2019 victory. The German champion was attentive throughout the criterium-like final stage, sprinting for bonus seconds at the eight intermediate sprints to defend her lead against Lorena Wiebes (Team Sunweb).

After a gutsy solo attack by Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) that moved the Italian champion to second place overall was brought back, things were set up for the final sprint. Wiebes launched early, but Elisa Balsamo (Valcar-Travel & Service) reacted quickly and came around the Dutch sprinter to win the final stage on the line. Marta Bastianelli (Alé BTC Ljubljana) rounded out the stage podium, Wiebes finished in third place overall.

How it unfolded

The final stage consisted of 17 laps à 5.9km on a circuit up and down the Paseos in the centre of Madrid, with eight intermediate sprints, one after every two laps, offering time bonifications of 5, 2, and 1 seconds in the fight for the overall victory. Additionally, 15, 10, and 5 bonus seconds were awarded to the first three riders to finish the stage.

The first intermediate sprint was won by Wiebes ahead of Brennauer and Jelena Eric (Movistar Team). There were some attacks in the laps that followed, but every attempt was quickly closed down by the peloton, and Brennauer retaliated by winning the second intermediate sprint to reestablish her 18-second lead over Wiebes.

On the sixth lap, Jessica Allen (Mitchelton-Scott) was the first rider to get a serious gap on the peloton, and when she was reeled in, her teammate Jessica Roberts counterattacked. Roberts won the third sprint ahead of Wiebes and Silvia Zanardi (BePink) before being absorbed by the peloton again.

The next laps were characterised by a flurry of attacks that were all quickly neutralised by Team Sunweb, with the leader of the Women’s WorldTour U23 ranking, Liane Lippert, being particularly valuable to her team. Eventually, Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) and European champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) initiated a breakaway of eight riders.

As the two strong time triallists were dangerous in the general classification, Sunweb and Valcar-Travel & Service went to the front of the peloton, not giving the break much leeway and bringing it back before the fourth intermediate sprint.

But Longo Borghini soon put in a counterattack, winning the sprint after eight laps ahead of Eugenia Bujak (Alé BTC Ljubljana) and Brennauer. She then established a healthy gap all on her own and kept the move going for more than four laps, winning another two sprints and taking a total of 15 bonus seconds. From the peloton, Brennauer placed second in both of those sprints while Wiebes finished out of the bonus seconds.

As her gap over the peloton had risen to more than 20 seconds, Longo Borghini was now virtually leading the GC. However, the Italian lost much of her advantage on the penultimate lap and was caught with 13km to go.

Van Vleuten, Van Dijk, and Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo) made some final attempts to break up the race, but the peloton was on their wheels immediately. The eighth intermediate sprint with one lap to go was won by Brennauer ahead of Longo Borghini and Van Dijk.

On the final lap, Malgorzata Jasinska (Cronos Casa Dorada) and Eri Yonamine (Alé BTC Ljubljana) briefly broke away but were brought back with 3.5km to go, setting up the sprint. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ceratizit-WNT) led out the sprint before Chiara Consonni (Valcar-Travel & Service) took over 300 metres from the line with Balsamo on her wheel.

Through the last turn with 250 metres to go, Wiebes launched her sprint early from fourth position and catching Brennauer off-guard. Balsamo reacted quickly and jumped into Wiebes’ wheel, coming around her on the final 50 metres to win the stage on the line. Bastianelli was third, and Consonni crossed the line in fourth place cheering her teammate’s victory.

Brennauer finished the stage in seventh place to take the overall victory and kept a narrow two-point lead over Wiebes in the points classification. The leader of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo), was not racing herself but had enough of a lead to win the ranking ahead of teammate Longo Borghini. Lippert won the Women’s WorldTour U23 ranking, wearing the light blue jersey from the first race of the season to the last.

Results :
1 Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 2:16:49
2 Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Team Sunweb Women
3 Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
4 Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
5 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) Bepink
6 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Movistar Team Women
7 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
8 Sandra Alonso Dominguez (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada
9 Jelena Eric (Srb) Movistar Team Women
10 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women
11 Alice Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing
12 Sarah Roy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women
13 Lucy Van der Haar (GBr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
14 Minke Bakker (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
15 Elizabeth Holden (GBr) Bizkaia-Durango
16 Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
17 Urska Pintar (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
18 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
19 Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo Women
20 Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
21 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women
22 Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
23 Audrey Cordon Ragot (Fra) Trek-Segafredo Women
24 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:00:08
25 Giorgia Catarzi (Ita) Bepink
26 Georgia Williams (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott Women
27 Vita Heine (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
28 Emilie Fortin (Can) Bizkaia-Durango
29 Julie Leth (Den) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
30 Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar Team Women
31 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Cronos-Casa Dorada
32 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Bepink
33 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
34 Marta Cavalli (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
35 Janneke Ensing (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women
36 Jessica Roberts (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott Women
37 Mieke Kröger (Ger) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
38 Marieke de Groot (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
39 Claire Steels (GBr) Sopela Women’s Team
40 Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin (Can) Massi Tactic Women Team
41 Carolina Esteban Fernandez (Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte
42 Sara Martin Martin (Spa) Sopela Women’s Team
43 Mireia Trias Jordan (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team
44 Rotem Gafinovitz (Isr) Canyon-Sram Racing
45 Eri Yonamine (Jpn) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
46 Laura Asencio (Fra) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
47 Lara Vieceli (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
48 Sarah Rijkes (Aut) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
49 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women
50 Paula Diaz Lopez (Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte
51 Mireia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team
52 Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
53 Belen Lopez Morales (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team
54 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women
55 Wilma Olausson (Swe) Team Sunweb Women
56 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb Women
57 Vania Canvelli (Ita) Bepink
58 Camilla Alessio (Ita) Bepink
59 Christa Riffel (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
60 Malgorzata Jasinska (Pol) Cronos-Casa Dorada
61 Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Movistar Team Women
62 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Bepink
63 Alba Teruel Ribes (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:00:24
64 Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:00:36
65 Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:00:47
66 Gloria Rodriguez Sanchez (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:01:12
67 Laura Tenorio ((Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte 0:01:15

Final General Classification :
1 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 4:29:21
2 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:00:12
3 Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 0:00:13
4 Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:00:31
5 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:00:42
6 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:00:44
7 Sarah Roy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:00:46
8 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:00:52
9 Alice Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing
10 Mieke Kröger (Ger) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 0:00:57
11 Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:00:59
12 Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:01:04
13 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
14 Vita Heine (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 0:01:07
15 Jessica Roberts (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:01:08
16 Marta Cavalli (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:01:09
17 Georgia Williams (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott Women
18 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women 0:01:11
19 Audrey Cordon Ragot (Fra) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:01:12
20 Jelena Eric (Srb) Movistar Team Women 0:01:19
21 Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:01:23
22 Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar Team Women 0:01:27
23 Janneke Ensing (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:01:31
24 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 0:01:32
25 Julie Leth (Den) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:01:35
26 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Bepink 0:01:37
27 Wilma Olausson (Swe) Team Sunweb Women 0:01:38
28 Rotem Gafinovitz (Isr) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:01:39
29 Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
30 Camilla Alessio (Ita) Bepink 0:01:42
31 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:01:43
32 Eri Yonamine (Jpn) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:01:44
33 Christa Riffel (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
34 Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:01:47
35 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Movistar Team Women 0:01:49
36 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) Bepink 0:01:50
37 Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:01:54
38 Urska Pintar (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:01:57
39 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Bepink 0:02:00
40 Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:02:08
41 Laura Asencio (Fra) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:02:09
42 Lara Vieceli (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:02:13
43 Mireia Trias Jordan (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team 0:02:15
44 Malgorzata Jasinska (Pol) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:02:18
45 Elizabeth Holden (GBr) Bizkaia-Durango 0:02:22
46 Sandra Alonso Dominguez (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada
47 Sara Martin Martin (Spa) Sopela Women’s Team 0:02:23
48 Giorgia Catarzi (Ita) Bepink
49 Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:02:25
50 Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:02:26
51 Sarah Rijkes (Aut) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:02:27
52 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:02:33
53 Belen Lopez Morales (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team 0:02:36
54 Marieke de Groot (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:02:51
55 Lucy Van der Haar (GBr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 0:02:52
56 Gloria Rodriguez Sanchez (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:02:57
57 Emilie Fortin (Can) Bizkaia-Durango 0:02:58
58 Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:03:03
59 Alba Teruel Ribes (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:03:09
60 Minke Bakker (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:03:21
61 Paula Diaz Lopez (Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte 0:06:13
62 Claire Steels (GBr) Sopela Women’s Team 0:08:02
63 Mireia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Massi Tactic Women Team 0:08:21
64 Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin (Can) Massi Tactic Women Team 0:08:33
65 Vania Canvelli (Ita) Bepink 0:09:13
66 Carolina Esteban Fernandez (Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte 0:09:19
67 Laura Tenorio ((Spa) Rio Miera-Cantabria Deporte 0:13:37