Emotional Marianne Vos wins in Giro for Jolien Verschueren | Cycling

sport">It was a 135 kilometer ride from Casale Monferrato to Ovada. Vos, who rides for Jumbo-Visma, won the sprint of a leading group of four riders ahead of her compatriot Lucinda Brand. Germany’s Liane Lippert was third, Swiss Elise Chabbey fourth.

sport">Vos dedicated the victory to Jolien Verschueren, the Belgian cyclo-cross rider who died of cancer last week. “It is unbelievable that you can still do what you love here and that you lose Jolien at the same time,” said an emotional Vos, who had pointed to the sky as he passed the finish line.

sport">“We sometimes think we have a hard time here, but there is so much more to life. I thought of her and that gave me extra strength because I knew how dedicated she was. I wanted to do this for her today.”

sport">Chabbey was the highest placed rider of the foursome. But with a margin of just under 6 minutes, she did not pose any danger to Anna van der Breggen, who was also allowed to put on the pink leader’s jersey after the third stage.

sport">For Vos it was her 29th stage win in the race that has long been known as Giro Rosa. Brand focused on the wheel of Vos in the final kilometers before the finish in Ovada, who would normally be the fastest in the sprint. The Rotterdam cyclo-cross world champion started the sprint, but had no chance when Vos (34) passed.

sport">An individual time trial uphill over more than 11 kilometers will follow on Monday.

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