Words by Owen Rogers

American team Specialized-Lululemon lit up the final kilometres of today’s third stage of the Women’s Tour into Clacton, but came away without the desired result.

With around 20 kilometres to race, German champion Trixi Worrack escaped with two others and, when they were caught, it was time for Australian Tiffany Cromwell to go it alone.

“We’d been setting it up for Trixi, but when her break got caught we kept attacking and I managed to get away,” Cromwell told Cycling Weekly at the finish.

“Ronny, my DS said don’t look back, but I looked down, no one was on my wheel, so I kept going. I gave it everything, but they came past me with a kilometre to go. Obviously you can’t do much more after that, but I’m happy, I tried.”

“We wanted to be active today because we don’t have a pure sprinter here and we have to look for our opportunities,” she told us. It was thought those opportunities might come from the high winds which greeted the peloton, but they never materialised.

“It was hard, some sections were quite protected with changes of direction all the time. We tried to play echelons but we’d change direction too quickly and then it comes back together. When Trixi’s break went we felt sure that would stick, but then Rabo chased it back. I think Vos wanted it back for the sprint.”

Cromwell has been an ever present in the American squad’s 2014 World Cup teams after joining from Orica-AIS at the beginning of the season.

Marianne Vos takes control in Women’s Tour

Stage win and overall lead for Marianne Vos as the Friends Life Women's Tour hits Clacton-on-Sea