Simac Ladies Tour long-range stage 3 break caught but still gathers rewards

LELYSTAD NETHERLANDS SEPTEMBER 08 LR Julie Sap of Belgium and Team Lotto Dstny Ladies Anneke Dijkstra of The Netherlands and Team Krush Rebellease Pro Cycling and Scarlett Souren of The Netherlands and Team Parkhotel Valkenburg compete in the breakaway during the 25th Simac Ladies Tour 2023 Stage 3 a 1489km stage from Emmeloord to Lelystad UCIWWT on September 08 2023 in Lelystad Netherlands Photo by Bas CzerwinskiGetty Images
Julie Sap (Lotto-Dstny), Anneke Dijkstra (GT Krush RebelLease) and Scarlett Souren (Parkhotel Valkenburg) in the break on stage 3 of the Simac Ladies Tour 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Stage 3 of the Simac Ladies Tour was marked by a long breakaway that was off the front of the race for almost 130 of the 149 kilometres. Anneke Dijkstra (GT Krush RebelLease), Scarlett Souren (Parkhotel Valkenburg), and Julie Sap (Lotto dstny Ladies) were up to eight minutes ahead of the peloton at some stages, enough to put Dijkstra in the virtual race lead.

“It didn’t really change anything because I still expected them to close the gap, but we worked well together,” said Dijkstra, who didn’t give much thought to being in the virtual yellow jersey.

Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.