Constance Valentin lights up the Tour of Burgos

The Tour of Burgos got underway on Thursday. After the Spanish stage race had been defined by two bunch sprints in the opening stages, Saturday’s third stage came alive with several attacks and race movements. Riding for Mayenne Monbana My Pie, Constance Valentin seized her opportunity and spent much of the day at the front during a stage raced at a high pace and in oppressive heat.

Meanwhile, Alice Coutinho and Francesca Hall remain well placed ahead of the final showdown on Sunday atop the Lagunas de Neila climb. Unfortunately, the French ProTeam also had to deal with the withdrawal of Allison Mrugal following a crash.

Constance Valentin : “It was an incredibly demanding day. I really wanted to be at the front for at least one stage of this Tour of Burgos, and I felt today could be a good opportunity given the stage profile. I attacked for the first time after around 13 kilometres. I managed to get away for about twenty kilometres, but it was quite difficult because there were only two of us and the girl with me wasn’t cooperating at all. The breakaway didn’t last very long and about 20 kilometres later, the peloton caught us again. I still wasn’t satisfied — I really wanted to be in the right breakaway of the day, so I kept staying near the front. Barely six kilometres later, I attacked again, a bit against the timing, because another rider had already gone clear. We formed a group of four, then five riders, and we stayed away together for roughly 50 kilometres. So in total, I spent nearly 80 kilometres in breakaways during the stage. I felt the effects of my attacks, but despite the heat, I managed to hang on. It’s nice because these are really good efforts for the rest of the season.”

Damien Pommereau, sports director. "The first two stages ended in bunch sprints. The girls tried to position themselves for those early sprint finishes, there was determination but not necessarily the results we had hoped for. Today (Saturday), we wanted to try and make the breakaway because it was a difficult stage, quite punchy, with lots of changes of rhythm and narrow roads. There was therefore a real possibility for a break to go far. Constance tried several times and spent a large part of the stage at the front. The group split apart on the final climb, around ten kilometres from the finish. Frankie and Alice came in with a group fighting for around 20th place. Unfortunately, we lost Allison after a crash. Quite a number of riders went down and every time there were withdrawals — sadly that was also the case for Allison. Nothing is broken, but she is suffering from back pain. Overall, the assessment remains positive. It was a good stage considering the level of the race, but it was also a very hard day. Constance told me it was one of the toughest days she has ever experienced, between the heat, the efforts she made, the constant climbs and descents, and the narrow roads… Tomorrow (Sunday), we’ll have the final verdict with the summit finish, so we’ll see how things unfold."

Results - stage 1 : 22 - Fiona Mangan

26 - Kiara Lylyk

73 - Constance Valentin

75 - Alice Coutinho

93 - Francesca Hall

114 - Allison Mrugal

Results - stage 2 :

22 - Kiara Lylyk

44 - Allison Mrugal

58 - Alice Coutinho

82 - Fiona Mangan

86 - Francesca Hall

91 - Constance Valentin

Results - stage 3 :

35 - Alice Coutinho

37 - Francesca Hall

41 - Kiara Lylyk

50 - Fiona Mangan

85 - Constance Valentin

General classification after stage 3 :

32 - Alice Coutinho

38 - Francesca Hall

46 - Kiara Lylyk

56 - Fiona Mangan

89 - Constance Valentin

Photo credit : Eduardo Saiz