Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes claimed victory on the penultimate stage of the Women’s Tour of Britain to hand Team SD Worx-Protime a third consecutive win.
Led out by her team-mate and overall leader Lotte Kopecky, sprint specialist Wiebes launched her attack to the line with 200m remaining of the 106.8km stage three which started and finished in Warrington.
Charlotte Kool, of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, was her closest challenger but Wiebes had enough power to hold off her compatriot and win by a bike length.
Liv AlUla Jayco’s Australian rider Georgia Baker finished third.
“It was a really fast finish, and I was like, ‘oh, it’s only 200 metres to go’, so I started my sprint, and I was happy to deliver for the team,” said Wiebes.
“It’s always nice to finish it off after the girls did so much work. There is one more day to go, so we go full for it again.”
British pair Jo Tindley, of Pro-Noctis-200° Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting, and Lifeplus-Wahoo’s Maddie Leech led a breakaway four kilometres into the race, opening up a four minute lead.
However, mechanical problems meant Leech had to drop back, while Tindley was caught 12km from the finish.
SD Worx-Protime, led by Belgian Kopecky in the green jersey, took control and paved a path for Wiebes to guide them to victory.
Kopecky retains her 17-second advantage over Britain’s Anna Henderson, while Italy’s Letizia Paternoster, riding for Liv AlUla Jayco, remains third.
Sunday’s final stage departs from the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, the home of British Cycling and finishes in Leigh.
Stage three results
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned/Team SD Worx-Protime) 2hrs 44mins 42secs
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned/Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) Same time
3. Georgia Baker (Aus/Liv AlUla Jayco)
4. Rachele Barbieri (Ita/Team dsm-firmenich PostNL)
5. Flora Perkins (GB)
6. Marjolein Geloof (Ned/Hess Cycling Team)
7. Lotte Kopecky (Bel/Team SD Worx-Protime)
8. Letizia Paternoster (Ita/Liv AlUla Jayco)
9. Roxane Fournier (Fra/St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93)
10. Alicia Gonzalez (Spa/Lifeplus-Wahoo)
General classification
1. Lotte Kopecky (Bel/Team SD Worx-Protime) 10hrs 25mins 49secs
2. Anna Henderson (GB) +17secs
3. Letizia Paternoster (Ita/Liv AlUla Jayco) +32secs
4. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB/Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +38secs
5. Eline Jansen (Ned/VolkerWessels Pro Cycling) +43secs
6. Lizzie Deignan (GB) Same time
7. Christine Majerus (Lux/Team SD Worx-Protime)
8. Victorie Guilman (Fra/St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93)
9. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Aus/Liv AlUla Jayco) +3mins
10. Lorena Wiebes (Ned/Team SD Worx-Protime) +4mins 19secs