After a second successive top ten finish in the Friends Life Women’s Tour, Lizzie Armitstead moved into the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research Best British Rider jersey.

The Boels Dolmans rider lies fifth overall, 14-seconds down on the race leader Rossella Ratto, but one second ahead of UnitedHealthcare’s Hannah Barnes, who wore the jersey during Stage Two.
 
“We almost caught Rosella but not quite. From our point of view it was really our team's responsibility to lead the chase, we didn’t have the yellow jersey to defend and possibly GreenEdge made a slight mistake.

“In terms of the GC we are still in the hunt if the stages are challenging enough but realistically we need some wins to make it more interesting. I've been going for all the intermediate sprints so far, I have been in stage races before when it comes down to second so if it does get close on Sunday I don’t want to look back on any lost opportunity.

“The conditions were fine even if they look bad. The more challenging conditions the better as far as I am concerned, it makes the race more selective. It's harder but there are more opportunities to make something happen.

“It is very good and inspiring to see all the kids standing out in the raining and waving flags along the course. After the Olympics we have been asked a lot about legacy and it has become a difficult thing to say whether there has been one or not but when you see sights like that you know it is genuine, it really is a legacy from the Olympics. And it doesn’t really matter if it’s cycling, it’s just kids being enthusiastic about sport.”