Lizzie Claims Hat Trick In Tour

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Lizzie Claims Hat Trick In Tour

Lizzie Armitstead completed a hat trick of victories in the Tour de l'Ardeche and claimed the prize of best young rider...

Tuesday 7^th September saw the opening stage of the Tour de l'Ardeche where Lizzie Armitstead cycled superbly to claim third place on day 1. The Tour de l'Ardeche is a six-stage race that commenced on Saturday 11^th September in Saint Martin d'Ardèche.

The first stage is a 112.4km ride between Le Pouzin to Beauchastel. Riding for the Cervélo Test Team, Lizzie won the bunch sprint ahead of the rest of the peloton to finish third, 1'41" behind winner and teammate Sharon Laws.

Stage 2 was a 3.5km time trial that saw Lizzie perform superbly to secure third place, 8 seconds off the winning time of 5'32". Stage 3 took place later the same day and all the riders took to the start line for a 90km trek from Vals les Bains to Le Teil. Lizzie once again showed her class as she outsprinted the field to take the Cervélo TestTeam's second stage of the race.

Stage 3 saw a group of just 17 riders detach from the front of the peloton in an early breakaway. The 17 riders jostled for a position that would allow them to make a charge for the line and an attack from Tiffany Cromwell (Lotto Ladies) looked to have left the pack behind but the ominous Lizzie chased her down and ended up winning the stage by a clear 4 seconds.

Lizzie said "It was a good victory today with great teamwork again from Lieselot Decroix (BEL) and Patricia Schwager (SUI). They worked hard in the first part of the race, enabling us to have four riders in the front. I remembered the course from last year. With 600 meters to go I took a fast corner and had a small gap and I just gave it full gas to the finish and nobody could pass me."

Stage 4, known as the queen's stage, is a 117km route from Saint Sauveur de Montagut to Cruas and Lizzie once again produced the goods to claim a second successive victory as she sprinted away from the field.

After claiming her second successive victory on what was the toughest day of the tour Lizzie said "In the final 5 km today there was seven of us including Carla [Ryan], Sharon [Laws] and myself. Carla worked hard for the last 5 km at the front while Sharon watched the leaders allowing me to get into a good position for the sprint. Grace Verbeke started the sprint and I won it. The team was outstanding today and worked very hard and I really thank them."

Lizzie then completed a hat trick of successive wins as she once again outsprinted the rest of the field to secure first place in the 114.6km Stage 5 race. Reflecting on a remarkable third victory in a row, Lizzie said "I just gave it full gas and was able to pass the line first. This is a new thing to win three times in a row."

Lizzie's amazing feats saw her named as the race's best young rider, finish fourth in the general classification and help her team win the team classification. Already an established name in cycling, Lizzie performances at the Tour de l'Ardeche is another reminder of her exceptional talents.

Congratualions to Lizzie from all at MTC