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Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Lisa Brennauer took one step closer to victory in the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour with second place in the third stage in Schleiz, eastern Germany. The former German Champion crossed the line just behind stage one winner, sprinter Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb), but ahead of Roxane Fournier (FDJ-Nouvelle-Aquitaine-Futuroscope). 
“Slowly, but surely, I’m getting closer!” Brennauer laughed. “Second place; I’m happy. We had Emilia [Fahlin] in the breakaway with Lucinda Brand [Sunweb] which was excellent, but a lot of other teams were not happy about that situation, so they closed it down.” Former Swedish Champion Fahlin got away in a nine rider break in the mid part of the 131km stage and, as that group was pulled back, escaped again with Brand. The two of them managed to open up more than a minute’s lead over the peloton, putting Fahlin in the virtual race lead, before rival teams worked to pull them back. “They had quite a big gap for quite a while, and they’d been a long way in the break,” Brennauer explained. “It was a very good situation; I really wished for her to stay away. Lucinda is a good one to be in the break with because she works really well. “Our team was super strong again today, especially Emilia, who was present in a lot of the dangerous moves, and especially in this one which was brilliant for us.” 
Despite a hard chase from several teams, Fahlin and Brand were able to hold off the peloton until the final few kilometres. Using her knowledge of the fast finish, Brennauer was able to position herself perfectly to fight for the victory, but just found the speed of Rivera too much in the final metres. “It came back together and the finish is a bit crazy, but I know it because I’ve been doing this race for a few years now,” she smiled. “It’s really fast and, yeah, I was second. Coryn’s really fast at the moment, and she’s like a little rocket when she starts her sprint.” A time bonus on the line moved Brennauer into second place in the general classification, and keeps her in the Blue and White Jersey of Best German Rider. “We can be happy with this,” Brennauer added. “Of course I really want to win, also for the team when they’re working so hard. But they’re happy with the podium. I’m sure that my form is right and some point this year I will win a bike race! “I’m not desperate about it, I’m happy to be so consistent and, looking back to Bira, I was already on the podium twice, and now here. It’s good, it’s really good. I’m happy and the team’s working super-well.” 
Result Photo Credit: Vélofocus |
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