An unstoppable Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) has ended ended the Setmana Ciclista Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana as triumphantly she started, adding a second stage win on the last day's racing from a break of five to her final overall victory.
The defending champion and race leader easily saw off Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) from a move that formed late on to conquer the last day's honours and her second GC title in the race in as many years.
An attack by Squiban on the final ascent of the race, the Cat.2 Alt de l'Oronent, brought a strong response from Vollering and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) with a group of five also including Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility), and Lippert forming on the front.
15 kilometres further on, Vollering easily clinched the final dash for the line, as a stage nominally designed for a sprint ended in a battle royale for the right to stand beside the Dutchwoman on the podium, with Squiban finally remaining in second on GC and Ottestad ousting Viktória Chladoňová (Visma-Lease a Bike) from the third place overall.
How it unfolded
A super-fast start sparked by lots of attacks, including a 15-rider move, saw the first hour run off an average speed of nearly 43kmh and finally Émilie Morier (St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93), Malou Eisen (Volker-Wessels), former Austrian National Champion Carina Schrempf (Alpecin-Fenix), Maike van der Duin (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) emerged as stage leaders out of the chaos.
The quartet built up a four-minutes-and-counting advantage well before the main challenge of the day, the Cat. 2 Alt de l'Oronent (5.4km at 4.9%), allowing Schrempf, the best-placed pre-stage overall at 4:03, provisionally to gain 48 places on GC and hike herself into the top spot overall.
However, the hard work by the four proved to be completely in vain as they approached the l'Oronent, thanks to Lidl-Trek and above all FDJ United-SUEZ, with the peloton ripping into the lead and catching them just before the climb had started.
Far from stopping though, FDJ continued driving hard on the grinding, steady ascent, squeezing the group down to just 15 riders. They could not stop an attack, though, by Squiban, 56 seconds back on GC, sparking a strong reaction from Vollering in person. Then after Niedermaier launched an even more powerful counter-charge, the Dutch race leader and Niedermaier powered away over the top. Having shed Squiban, the duo continued together on the very fast descent.
With just 27 kilometres to go from the top, the two had little to lose by working together and with the second or third place overall a possibility for the German and the GC lead to consolidate for Vollering, the two collaborated well. At the same time, a small chase group had formed, comprising Squiban, Lippert (Movistar) and Ottestad, and thanks to Lippert's hard driving, the trio closed in on the two stage leaders ahead with 15 kilometres to go. A furious pursuit continued behind, led by Visma-Lease a Bike as they tried to defend Chladoňová's third place overall, Chladoňová herself driving hard to reduce a gap hovering at around 45 seconds as the outskirts of Valencia approached.
Five different teams and five different riders represented in the front, three of them - Squiban, and Ottestad - fighting for the top two spots on GC behind Vollering guaranteed a fine tactical battle. However, it also meant that the temptation to stop working was strong. Partly as a result of the slight hesitation, just 13 seconds separated the five ahead from the chasers as they swung into the finishing straight, and Lippert then opened up the sprint. Vollering, though, was far too strong, leading from 200 metres to go, despite going from distance, impressively finishing over a bike length ahead.
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