A spectacular all-out attack by Columbia-Highroad’s Judith Arndt on the final descent of the Bira race in Spain netted the German star both the overall win and her third stage in four days.

After Columbia-Highroad teammate Mara Abbott and rival Claudia Hausler of Germany had attacked on the last climb, Arndt powered across to the two stage leaders on a dangerous rain-soaked descent.  Arndt then outpowered Hausler in the final sprint for the line in the town of Orduña, while Abbott took third. It was Arndt’s third stage win in four days, and her first overall stage race victory since winning the Tour of Tuscany in Italy last September.

To round off an exceptional day for Columbia-Highroad, Abbott took third on the stage and third overall, while the squad also won the Bira’s teams’ classification.  And just an hour or so before, in the Tour de Suisse, Bernhard Eisel won the day’s stage for Columbia-Highroad’s men’s team.

“I’m really pleased because I never expected to do this well after all my injuries in the Spring and after not racing for so long,” Arndt said afterwards.  “But I’ve come back and I’m already doing much better than I could hope to do. It’s something very special and really motivating.  At the same time, the team has really stepped up and given me a huge amount of support in this race. I can’t thank them enough.”

Arndt broke her collarbone and her wrist this spring, meaning she was effectively out of race action for nearly nine months.
“For Judith this has been a really important win after her two injuries this Spring,” added team sports director Ronny Lauke.
“It was a tremendously tough thing for her to handle, because in her 15-year career she’s never had to spend such a long time off the bike because of injuries.  She knew how to try and recover and keep in good shape.  But until she started racing, she couldn’t be certain everything would work out. This succession of wins, against some of the world’s top riders, proves that it has.”