Frenchwoman Cedrine Kerbaol escaped to a solo victory on the third stage of the Vuelta Femenina on Tuesday, while Belgian Lotte Kopecky closed in on the overall lead by winning the sprint for second.
German Franziska Koch struggled to keep up on the final climb before a descent to the finish, but did just enough to come home in the peloton and cling on to the leader's jersey.
Kerbaol of EF Education attacked with about 2km left and held off the charging peloton to win by four seconds after a 121.2km run from Padron to A Coruna.
🥰 Vaya etapón que hemos vivido entre Padrón y A Coruña. Ataques, contraataques y un final frenético con el triunfo de Kerbaol. Revive lo mejor de la etapa en 1’
— La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (@LaVueltaFem) May 5, 2026
🤩 That was quite the stage we saw between Padrón and A Coruña! Attacks, counterattacks, and a hectic final over… pic.twitter.com/pdFYCFSZm2
DLT's Kopecky pipped Canadian Sarah van Dam and thanks to bonus seconds she gained, and moved to two seconds behind Koch of FDJ United-Suez.
Kerbaol moved up to third at four seconds back.
Wednesday's fourth stage is a 115.6km ride from Monforte de Lemos to Antas de Ulla with two third category climbs along the way.