Fahlin wins Crescent Vargarda WorldTour race

Emilia Fahlin (Ale Cipollini) sprinted to the win Sunday during Crescent Vargarda, the 15th round of the Women's World Tour. The 27-year-old Swedish rider claimed the win in her home country after making it into a nine-rider move that escaped on a dirt section late in the race, then outsprinted Lotta Lepistö (Cervelo Bigla) and Chantal Blaak (Boels Dolmans) at the line.

"I am happy to have broken the ice, winning in Sweden was extraordinary," Fahlin said after the race. "I'm fine, I'm fit and I really wanted to be a leader at home. I dedicate this victory to my family, now present at the finish line, to my team, perfect even here, we are united and strong, and to the crowd shouting my name at the roadside, they gave me the strength to sprint and win the best win of my career."

Cervelo Bigla's Nicole Hanselmann went on a 30km solo flyer before the day's decisive move, the nine-rider break that contained Fahlin, slipped away as the riders approached the finishing circuits and the infamous gravel sections.

The breakaway group also included Amy Pieters (Wiggle High5), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Lensworld-Zannata), Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS), Julia Soek (Liv-Plantur) and Shara Gillow (Rabo Liv).

The nine-rider group never gained more than a two-minute advantage, and it wasn’t clear until the last lap whether they would be successful. With most teams represented in the move, however, the peloton eventually sat up, and the winner would come from the escapees.

Fahlin surprised the group with an early jump and held off the sprinters to take the win. Lepistö said the Swedish rider deserved the win.

"I feel like Emilia and I did most of the work in the breakaway," the Cervelo Bigla rider said. "I think Emilia was having super legs today and she took the last corner first and had the most speed and could hold the 300 metres in the front. I was trying to pass her so badly but I just died, my legs were totally empty."

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