Canyon//SRAM showcases team spirit: Bradbury takes stage and bonuses, thanks to Niewiadoma

Eventually, yellow jersey Demi Vollering put up quite a fight, resulting in the lead of both ladies at the finish being just under two minutes. Bradbury was asked if her experienced teammate had let her win, to which she responded in the negative. "I was allowed to win today, but that was also because it was good for my classification," Bradbury began.

The Australian winner of the Zwift Academy continued her account of the stage. "We wanted to go for a tough and beautiful race today. The plan was to let me win for the bonus seconds. I think I'm now in a podium position. I would have been happy for her too because she worked super hard today," said the 22-year-old laureate.

Niewiadoma was entirely comfortable with the day's outcome. "For me, it was totally fine like this. Neve has worked so hard for me, and so often. This was also a way to say thank you. The first two days here were terrible for me. I had just come from altitude, and my legs were not good at all. Today, I just wanted to race and have fun. That's what we both did perfectly. Today, we fell in love with the sport again."

Niewiadoma was not at all focused on the stage and the time gain, even though she gave the stage and therefore the bonuses to Bradbury. "I wasn't thinking about it for a long time. I wanted to repay Neve, I really focused on her. In my mind, I wanted to bring her to the top," said the Polish rider, who now also stands at the top of the classification.