Neve Bradbury impresses with attackive ride on Jebel Hafeet: "I wanted to be in the top three, and I'm happy that I could actually do it"

What do Neve Bradbury and Jay Vine have in common? They're both 2020 Zwift Academy winners. And while Vine has already established himself as one of the top climbers in the men's peloton, the road to glory for seven years younger Bradbury was not so straightforward, despite finishing tenth at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne.

The 21-year-old reminded herself to the public with a stand-out performance on the Jebel Hafeet during third stage of UAE Tour. "I wanted to be in the top three, and I'm happy that I could actually do it," the 21-year-old smiled in an interview with Cyclingnews after arriving second on the day, just behind world champion Lotte Kopecky.

For a moment she was even leading the race alone after a fierce attack. "It was more spur of the moment," Bradbury said about her attack. "I was waiting for some other riders to attack before because I felt I was at my limit at the start of the climb, so I was expecting something to happen, but then nothing happened. I just gave it a crack."

"I just wanted to get a good run-in to the finish, maybe if she wasn't quite so strong I could have come to the corner first," said Bradbury who is now 13 seconds behind Kopecky in the general classification. The final stage is expected to be one for the sprinters again, so this is likely to be also the final result for Bradbury.