Annemiek van Vleuten finished third in a three-way sprint for the third stage of the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana on Saturday in Altea.

After clearing the 15km Tudons climb with Ashley Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-Quick Step) and Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo), Van Vleuten was unable to shake off both riders on the following climb and descent.

"Not strong enough today to drop Ashley and Amanda Spratt on the climb," Van Vleuten wrote in a post-stage tweet (opens in new tab).

On paper, the profile of the queen stage looked perfect for Annemiek Van Vleuten's long-distance attack. After a hilly early stage, the last 50km was a series of two big climbs.

Entering Alto Tudong, Movistar appeared to be setting up an attack by the Dutchwoman. However, the attack did not materialize immediately and Trek-Segafredo's Gaia Lealini and Amanda Spratt attacked in Movistar's place.

When Van Vleuten finally made the inevitable move a few kilometers from the summit, she briefly took on Mourman Pasio and Spratt, as well as Kim Katzow of Jumbo Visma, and the group caught up with the breakaway at the top of the climb.

However, Van Vleuten, Moolman Pasio, and Spratt did not appear to be riding at full speed on the descent and the following climb.

Eventually, the breakaway was decisively dropped, but with the climb gone, Van Vleuten no longer had a chance to make a move, and the sprint was on the flat before the finish.

"I was a bit surprised by the roundabout at the end," Van Vleuten said of the sprint. In this sprint, she and winner Mourman Passio stood on opposite sides of the roundabout in the final kilometer, possibly affecting the final outcome of the sprint.

Sunday's final stage is likely to be a disadvantageous day for pure climbers, with significantly less distance climbed than stage 3, but that does not mean a Van Vleuten victory is impossible. With 6.7 km of 4.3% climbing in the last 20 km, there may be another chance to shake off the faster riders and take the win in the first race of the last season.

"Another battle awaits tomorrow!" Van Breutenen's tweet was clearly not a ruled out entry into the fourth stage.