Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram) took a memorable first professional win at the Tour de Suisse on Monday, chaperoned by her team-mate Kasia Niewiadoma.
The 22-year-old Australian, who earned a pro contract when she won the Zwift Academy in 2020, was part of the early breakaway on stage three to Champagne. She broke away with her Polish team-mate on a climb with 16km remaining, before the duo rode in tandem to the finish to secure first and second.
Smiling after the line, Niewiadoma pulled the young Australian in for a hug and kissed her on the cheek in celebration.
“It's crazy. I didn't think at the start of today that I'd be winning this stage," Bradbury said afterwards. "We really wanted to win this stage and make it a really hard race, and that's what we did, so it's great.”
The Canyon-Sram rider added that, once she and Niewiadoma were clear, there was little discussion about who would win the stage.
"The plan was to let me get the win to get the bonus seconds because I'm a bit higher on the GC," she said. "It would have been nice to gift Kasia the win because she was really strong, really, really strong, but in the end, it's for the GC.”
Bradbury's victory put an end to Demi Vollering's winning streak at the race, after the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion claimed back-to-back victories in the opening two stages.
Sixth on the day, Vollering continues to lead the general classification by one minute and 22 seconds. Bradbury rose seven places to second, with Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) in third.
How it happened
Stage three of the Tour de Suisse Women traced a looping line north between Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel. Starting in Vevey, it stretched out 125.6km and clocked almost 2,000m of elevation over a series of category two and three climbs.
A five-rider breakaway formed inside 90km to go, spearheaded by Canyon-Sram duo Niewiadoma and Bradbury. Also present were Roland's Elena Pirrone, Visma-Lease a Bike's Femke de Vries, and Lidl-Trek's Amanda Spratt, the group's best-placed rider in the GC, three minutes and 28 seconds in arrears.
The escapees' advantage yo-yoed between two and three minutes throughout the day, as the race weaved through verdant Swiss towns. On the final climb – a 4km-long kicker with 16km to go – Bradbury and Niewiadoma wriggled off the front, distancing their breakaway companions.
Behind, Vollering chose the same slopes to ramp up the pace in the peloton. The yellow jersey swiftly peeled away from the bunch, towing Elisa Longo Borghini, Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) and Kim Cadzow (EF-Education Cannondale), each with their own GC ambitions.
A descent to the line in Champagne followed, but the gap to the leaders remained the same. Bradbury and Niewiadoma hit in excess of 73km/h as the road tilted downhill, holding off the bunch, and setting up a classy victory for the team.
The Tour de Suisse Women concludes on Tuesday with another lumpy stage in Champagne.
Tour de Suisse Women 2024, stage three: Vevey > Champagne (125.6km)
1. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM, in 3:16:36
2. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, at same time
3. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:55
4. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek, at same time
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:11
6. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
7. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
8. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, all at same time
9. Elena Pirrone (Ita) Roland, +2:49
10. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Lidl-Trek, +2:53
General classification after stage three
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 5:45:34
2. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM, +1:22
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +1:26
4. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +1:28
5. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, +1:39
6. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, +2:14
7. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +2:56
8. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek, +3:11
9. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +3:22
10. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +4:11
