After two stages for the sprinters it was time for some serious climbing in the Setmana Ciclista-Volta Comunitat Valenciana Fèmines. Spanish champion Mavi Garcia brought Liv Racing TeqFind a top-10 result.
The third stage had some serious climbs in it, with the Alto Tudons (15,4 km, 4,9%) and the Confrides (6,5 km, 4,8%) in the second part of the stage. Katia Ragusa started the stage in the polka dot jersey. The Liv Racing TeqFind rider didn`t take any points today, but still held on to the jersey and takes it into the final stage tomorrow.
Three riders animated the stage till the Alto Tudons. On that climb there came some accelerations from the peloton. Mavi Garcia was well protected by her team mates till the climb. The Spanish champion saw another three riders take off from that group and found herself back in small chasing group. Eventually three riders battled for the stage win, 11 seconds later Garcia sprinted to an eight place.
“The team really rode well today. They did everything they could to position me well for the hard climbs. The Alto Tudons was really hard and I felt my legs did not respond the way I would like them to have. Still I managed to get in the small chase group and finish inside the top-10 of the stage. I had higher hopes, but it is what it is. Tomorrow we will try again”, Garcia commented after the stage.