KEY POINTS:
A relentless barrage of attacks up the intimidating slopes of Admiral Hill near Masterton yesterday earned Kristin Armstrong the yellow jersey after the 125km third stage in the women's Tour of New Zealand.
Armstrong's Swiss-based Cervelo-Lifeforce team worked hard for the 34-year-old American, who goes into the 126km 12-lap circuit of Miramar today with a 21s general classification lead over Thursday's leader, Oenone Wood (Team High Road).
Australian Ruth Corset (Tabak) is in third place overall at 1m 18s, followed by Canada's Erinne Willock (Webcor) at 1m 37s.
Armstrong battered the field into submission with a punishing pace to the finish line at the top of Admiral Hill, clocking 3h 32m 50s for the stage win over Corset, at 27s, and Wood, a further 4s down.
But it was defending champions Team High Road who made the early pace, with Linda Villumsen (Denmark) grafting out a fine solo effort from 50km, holding off numerous attacks until she finally succumbed with barely 5km to go.
New Zealand's best effort continues to come from under-23 rider Serena Sheridan, who finished an excellent ninth at 1m 27s. Rachel Mercer (Mercedes Benz) was the next Kiwi in, finishing 27th at 3m 57s.
Sheridan lies 17th in the general classification, 6min 01sec down on Armstrong, while Mercer is 28th at 8m 31s.
- NZPA
