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Zoe Backstedt turned professional in 2022 [Getty Images]
British rider Zoe Backstedt (Canyon-SRAM) won stage three of the Tour de Suisse Femmes on Friday, producing a commanding finish to a bunch sprint in Bad Ragaz.
The 21-year-old Welshwoman took full advantage of a perfect lead-out from her team to power clear in the final 300m, at the end of a largely flat stage which saw a breakaway reeled in with 19km to go.
It was a ninth professional win for Backstedt who moves up to 39th on general classification, more than 16 minutes behind Italian leader Elisa Longho Borghini.
"My whole team did an amazing job today and truly I couldn't have done it without them," said Backstedt.
"I was a bit nervous when the break went and we didn't have anyone in it. But it was controlled quite nicely and we managed to bring it back with just enough time before the finish."
Fellow British rider Lauren Dickson remains second overall - 25 seconds behind Longho Borgini - despite clipping the barriers with a pedal 3.5km from the finish.
All riders involved in the crash were given the same time under the final 5km rule.
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Stage four on Saturday will see the riders take on a 24km time trial and Backstedt, winner of five time trials so far in her short career, will be among the favourites to take back-to-back victories.
"Tomorrow will be super brutal with the heat," she said.
"Every day has been super hard with the heat, and the climbing, but tomorrow it should be a good day for me again."
The five-stage Tour de Suisse Femmes concludes with a mountain loop starting and finishing in Villars-sur-Ollon on Sunday.
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