The win franks some good 2019 form for Neylan where she has been consistently around the business end of races as one of the key lieutenants for in-form teammate Marta Bastianelli.
In the Czech Republic stage race she got a chance to ride for the win, establishing an advantage after some hard early laps in the circuit race and staying clear of the chasing peloton to win by 53 seconds from teammate Bastianelli, who gapped the field in the sprint for second.
Team Virtu Cycling Sports Director Carmen Small was pleased with the performance of Neylan and the team.
“It was a perfect race situation having Rachel solo for the win and then Marta taking the field sprint," said Small. "The team worked hard to get away and it was not easy in the first laps, but I was happy to finally see one of our riders go free of the peloton. “
“The field chased, and I encouraged Rachel to keep going 100% so we can also have her up in GC if she got enough time.
Neylan currently sits second by ten seconds to Mariia Novolodskaia (Cogeas-Mettler), who took the race lead off the back of her strong time trial and runner-up finish in the opening two stages. The lead for Neyland grew to such an extent that the yellow jersey had to get on the front of the peloton to make sure she would keep hold of the lead.
Team Virtu also has Bastianelli in third overall and has a strong hand heading into the two final stages of the race.
"It’s good to have more options for tomorrow’s stage," said Small. "The team did an excellent job and stayed always in control.“
“They helped lead Marta out in the final and I was super happy to see such a good team effort on such a long day.”
