Dideriksen puts her stage win down to team's lead-out

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Amalie Dideriksen (Boels Dolmans) was the fastest woman in Worcester on Saturday, winning stage 4 of the OVO Energy Women's Tour ahead of Lotta Lepistö (Cervélo-Bigla) and Marianne Vos (WaowDeals). Dideriksen credits her team with leading her out well in the finale after a challenging day.

"Today was a very difficult stage with a lot of wind," she said. "We knew everyone was going to be a little tired coming into the sprint but with about 30 km to go we decided that it would be me we'd ride for. The final was very technical, and the girls did an amazing lead-out. You have to be patient in the end but still go before everyone else comes from behind."

In the sprint, Dideriksen took the lead early on. She said that she almost expected to be passed from behind. "I knew that we had to go through the last corner in the first few positions. Amy Pieters dropped me off perfectly with two hundred metres to go and then I just went. To my surprise, nobody came around me. I'm really happy I could pull it off."

Before it came down to the sprint, though, there was a breakaway of three riders that persisted for a long time. Early attacker Charlotte Becker (Hitec Products-Birk Sport) had been joined by Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Wiggle High5) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Cervélo-Bigla), and the trio was caught only six kilometres from the finish. Ludwig said that she enjoyed being out on the attack.

"It was a hard day in the office but it was a lot of fun," she said. "We tried something today; we didn't succeed, but it was super cool. And even though we got caught, Lotta Lepistö could finish it off with a podium. The whole team rode so well and day by day we are coming together and uniting as a group."

For Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb), stage 4 was about defending the green jersey as overall race leader. "The girls were great today, working on the front and making sure that I didn't have to use too much energy. There was a really good stretch of cross tailwind and they did a great job stringing out the field with Boels Dolmans. It made the race hard and it was all about controlling the break from that point on."

Sunday's final stage through northern Wales, from Dolgellau to Colwyn Bay, offers the last opportunity for the other teams to unseat Rivera. The US rider acknowledges that stage 5 will be tough, but remains optimistic.

"Tomorrow is going to be a hard day with lots of climbs," Rivera said. "I'm anticipating that Boels Dolmans and Canyon-SRAM will make it difficult, but as long as we stay together I think we'll be okay. There is a long way to the finish line after that last climb and I really trust that we as a team are strong enough to get through it. Team work will be the most important thing tomorrow."