Today was a ripper day for the VIS crew. It went to plan perfectly, which is a rare thing for bike races. Too much to write, but very briefly: Jo got in the perfect break with GC contenders from all the major teams. Luckily this meant that the main bunch was happy to sit up and let the break blow out to 8mins. Jess led out Loren perfectly for the intermediate sprint which means that Loren now has an unassailable stranglehold on the green jersey. Then we hatched a plan in the bunch to launch Jess into a break to get the 19 seconds she needed to take the young rider jersey.
Preventing the Chinese national team from closing the gap to Jess was not easy (they had the white young rider jersey) but luckily this kind of shit is what McConville lives for and she shut everything down. Now Jess is in the white jersey, Loren is in the green and Jo is sitting 4th on GC. What a great day. Tomorrow we are out to defend the white and move Jo up.
A big shout out to Amy Bradley who put it on the line today in a break and ran 2nd in the stage. Great work and a well deserved result.
And another shout out to Grace Sulzberger who was taken down in a crash today and broke her wrist. She'll be back stronger than ever but right now please send any spare healing thoughts you have her way.
Ride happy.
