Norway's Sigrid Haugset wins stage three of the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift following a 68km solo breakaway.

Norway's Sigrid Haugset won stage three of the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift with a remarkable solo breakaway. Haugset of Uno X Mobility held off the challenge of Belgium's two-time world champion Lotte Kopecky, with the SD Worx-Protime rider crossing the line one minute 24 seconds down after a gruelling 156.5km stage from Geneva in Switzerland, as the race headed into France from its Grand Depart in Lausanne. Haugset, 27, now leads by two minute and two seconds overall from AG Insurance-Soudal's Kim le Court of Mauritius, after previous yellow jersey wearer Lorena Wiebes was dropped, as expected, with the world's best sprinter distanced over the early climbs. On a hot day in the Jura mountains, on a stage which began with a steep category one ascent up the Col de la Faucille, the peloton soon began to shed riders. Unfancied for the win and having only ever tasted victory at the Norwegian national championships in June, Haugset launched from an original breakaway group with 113km to go in-between the second climb and the category two Col de la Savine and established a healthy lead. The far more decorated former world champion Kopecky went off in pursuit of Haugset as the stage parcours began to even out on its way to Poligny. Kopecky, 30, made it to within about 15 seconds of Haugset, but as the crosswinds picked up across the harvested fields of Arbois, the three-time Tour of Flanders winner lost 30 seconds and eventually conceded. In what has become a memorable summer for Norwegian sport after the football team reached the World Cup quarter-finals and Torstein Traeen wore the yellow jersey for two stages at the men's Tour, Haugset said: "I never thought it was possible. It's unreal.