Lippert: "It's a shame I wasn't on Kim's wheel on the final corner." - The German rider finished second behind the unstoppable Le Court-Pienaar in the queen stage of the Tour of Britain Women.

Movistar were the most active team on stage 3 of the Tour of Britain Women, a hilly route from Mold to The Great Orme in Llandudno, where the Spanish team worked tirelessly to select the peloton along the roads of North Wales.

The great effort paid off with a precious second place for German rider Liane Lippert , who achieved one of her best results of the season on the steep slopes of the climb overlooking Llandudno, overlooking the waters of the Irish Sea. For those who play fantasy cycling, such a placing confirms how Lippert can be a valuable asset in medium-mountain stages.

The Movistar rider had some positive words for her teammates, including Aude Biannic and Sara Martín, who positioned her perfectly for the final attack. However, nothing could be done to stop stage winner and new overall leader Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), who delivered the decisive blow at the toughest point of the climb, 2.6 km from the finish.

"I'm really proud of my teammates. We knew this was my best stage of the five, so we put in a huge effort, and it was totally worth it," Lippert told Cyclingnews at the finish line.

"The whole group came together in the finale, which made things a bit more chaotic, but the girls positioned me well. It's just a shame I wasn't on Kim's wheel on the last corner before the climb: that was my goal.

"But I did my best and tried to keep the gap as small as possible."

Lippert finished the day 13 seconds behind Le Court-Pienaar, who is in extraordinary form, having also finished third in Thursday's sprint in Blackpool. In conditions like that, there was little that could be done to stop her, although the chaotic section at the start of the climb posed a significant obstacle.

After the scenic stretch around Marine Drive, Le Court-Pienaar took the hairpin at the base of the final climb in a perfect position, while Lippert and the others behind her remained slightly bottlenecked.

"There was also a near fall by Lorena Wiebes, which forced me and everyone else to slow down," Lippert said.

"It was a bit unlucky, but honestly [Le Court-Pienaar] was really strong. She saw that we all had a gap, so obviously she kept pushing, and I couldn't close the gap on her."

With two stages remaining, Lippert is now 26 seconds behind Le Court-Pienaar in the overall standings and nine seconds ahead of third-place Wiebes. This is an interesting statistic for those following the rankings from a fantasy cycling perspective: the battle for the final podium remains wide open.

Second place in the overall standings would be Lippert's best result since the 2022 Tour of Scandinavia, and the German admitted that wresting the leader's green jersey from the Mauritian champion will be a difficult task.

"It's tough. She'll definitely try to defend the jersey, and there are no more uphill finishes. We'll have a meeting later and try."

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency