Stevens continues strong results with Gracia-Orlova stage win

Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-lululemon) confirmed herself as one of the top uphill sprinters in the world: following her impressive victory in Flèche Wallonne, she nabbed another victory on stage 1 of Gracia-Orlova ahead of Sharon Laws (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Alena Amialiusik (Be Pink).

Stevens prevailed on the steep, cobbled climb to the finish in Štramberk at the end of a 105.1km stage from Detmarovice.

"I'm starting to really like these uphill finishes," Stevens said after the race. "I'm not sure what's happening but I'm enjoying it."

With her win, Stevens inherited the overall race lead from her German teammate Trixi Worrack, who finished four seconds behind in eighth place on the stage. She now trails Stevens by 12 seconds in the general classification.

"It was amazing. We went into the race in the perfect position and it all went to plan. Except at the end I wanted to try to lead out Trixi but I think I got a little over-excited and jumped too hard," Stevens said. "I'll have to make up for that."

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