Armitstead claims overall lead after dramatic victory

WORLD champion Lizzie Armitstead has grabbed the overall lead in the Aviva Women's Tour after a dramatic victory in stage three from Ashbourne to Chesterfield on Friday.

The Otley 27-year-old, riding for the Boels-Dolman team, got the better of a tight sprint finish to pip South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman and Italian Elisa Longbo Borghini to the line.

Armitstead was part of a breakaway midway through the 112km stage which gradually saw a group of 14 riders whittled down to four approaching the finish.

And with Holland's Marianne Vos trailing more than a minute behind the leaders, victory was enough for Armitstead to move to the top of the overall standings.

She leads by five seconds from Moolman, with Longbo Borghini seven seconds back.

Armitstead, the reigning world, Commonwealth and national road race champion, is hoping to add the Aviva title when the race finishes on Sunday in Kettering.