Olivia Baril (UAE Team ADQ) once again stood out on Saturday at the Tour of the Basque Country, reaching the finish in seventh place in the town of Amurrio. At the dawn of the third and final stage of the event, all hopes are allowed for the Quebecer… or almost.
Fifth at the curtain raiser of the competition on Friday, Baril made sure to keep her place among the leaders by completing the second race among the leading group, once again led by Demi Vollering (SD Worx).
The latter won for the second day in a row, signing at the same time her ninth victory of the season. What’s more, the whole thing allowed him to increase his lead at the top of the provisional general classification, in particular by virtue of the 10 bonus seconds for his triumph of the day.
The Dutchwoman now has 56 seconds of priority over her Swiss teammate Marlen Reusser, and 1 minute 5 seconds over the Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon / SRAM Racing).
Just behind, two cyclists are 1 minute 11 seconds behind the leader: the Rouynorandian Olivia Baril, fourth, as well as the Dutchwoman and double world champion on the road Annemiek van Vleuten, fifth.
While closing the gap to Vollering will likely be difficult, if not impossible, Baril will want to give it his all on the final 114-kilometre stage in the mountains in his adopted city.
“Itzulia is a really important race for me, because I live in San Sebastian where Sunday’s stage will take place. This race is close to my heart and I really want to perform,” she told Sportcom on Friday.
Recall that the 25-year-old athlete had the best results of his career in the World Tour at the same place last year, finishing second in the second stage and eleventh overall in the event.
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill jumps in the standings
The only other Quebecer in action at the Tour of the Basque Country, Magdeleine Vallières-Mill (EF Education – TIBCO – SVB) also had a good day’s work on Saturday, finishing 23e36 seconds behind the winner.
Thanks to this performance, the Sherbrooke resident climbed eight places in the standings to find herself 44e (+9min 3s). The one who was ranked 31e cumulatively in 2022, a peak for her in a stage race on the world circuit, she will therefore also have the chance to improve her personal mark on Sunday.