A tough mountain stage in the Giro d\”Italia Femminile has seen Mara Abbott claim victory for Columbia-HTC.
Abbott outsprinted British rider Emma Pooley at the end of the 106-kilometre stage three of the giro d\’Italia Femminile, which started in Calcinaia and finished with a double ascent of the gruelling Monteserra climb.
The 23-year-old American was delighted about the victory. \”It\’s really exciting. There are so many good riders on this team that even though I felt strong, it was difficult to imagine that I could actually be strong enough to go for the win,\” Abbott said afterwards.
Abbott initially broke away with Pooley on the first ascent of the 10-kilometre Monteserra, but came off her bike on the downhill section of the climb. \”The descent was very tricky because it had rained and I crashed, although fortunately I wasn\’t injured. Linda [Villumsen, Columbia-HTC teammate] guided me back up to the front group before we reached the Montesierra again. Almost as soon as we did, I got away again with Pooley. Then when [Pooley\’s teammate Claudia] Haussler got across, I attacked and managed to drop her, which left me and Pooley as stage leaders. Pooley did most of the work, but I couldn\’t collaborate because I wanted to defend [teammate] Judith Arndt\’s position on GC. Finally at the summit, I attacked about 800 metres from the top and went for the win.\”
Now second overall, Abbott was cautiously optimistic about Columbia-HTC\’s chances of winning, either with her or another rider. \”There are some very tough stages coming up, but Judith [Arndt] is still high up on the overall so we\’ve got a lot of options, not just me. But in any case, I\’m very pleased about things have worked out today. It was cool!\”
