Marianne Vos wins stage 4 at La Vuelta Femenina(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marianne Vos of Jumbo-Visma retains Red Leader Jersey with another stage win, this time in Guadalajara(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Other riders could not match sprint of winner Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma)(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
With 6km to go, Liane Lippert of Movistar Team attacks from the peloton for a second time, having accelerated 5km earlier(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) launched from the peloton to join Liane Lippert at the front of the race but both were caught with under 3km to go(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
A general view of the peloton riding across 133.1km on stage 4 from Cuenca to Guadalajara(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Ana Vitoria Magalhães of Brasil (Team Bizkaia-Durango) accelerates to the front of the race with 50km to go(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Breakaway included Ana Vitoria Magalhães (Team Bizkaia-Durango), Marina Varenyk (EneicatCM Team-Seguros Deportivos) and Anna Kiesenhofer (Israel-Premier Tech-Roland) (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Jade Wiel (Team FDJ-SUEZ) in the Polka Dot Mountain Jersey competes during stage 4(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Demi Vollering of Team SD Worx competes in the Pink UCI Womens WorldTour Leader Jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Tamara Dronova of Israel-Premier Tech-Roland rides next to World Champion Annemiek van Vleuten of Movistar Team(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Amber Kraak rides behind Jumbo-Visma teammate Coryn Labecki to set the pace for race leader Marianne Vos(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The peloton passing through Alcocer Village(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Charlotte Kool (Team DSM) rides in the Green points jersey with Jade Wiel (FDJ-SUEZ) in the Polka Dot Mountain Jersey (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Anna Henderson of Jumbo-Visma (left) and Magdeleine Vallieres of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB get assistance after being involved in a crash(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Anna Henderson of Jumbo-Visma and Magdeleine Vallieres of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB after being involved in a crash (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Dilyxine Miermont (on left) goes to check on teammate Coralie Demay (St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93) after being involved in a crash(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) rides in peloton in the Red Leader Jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
With 110km to go, race leader Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) was involved in a crash with two other riders(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Jumbo-Visma teammates congratulate Marianne Vos for stage 4 victory(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
A happy Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) celebrates at podium as stage 4 winner(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) accepts the Green points jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Another day in red leader's jersey for Marianne Vos after stage 4 win(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM Racing) moves into the Polka Dot Mountain Jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Anna Kiesenhofer (Israel-Premier Tech-Roland) celebrates as White Most Combative Rider Jersey winner after stage 4(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) has continued her winning ways in Spain, winning her second consecutive stage of La Vuelta Femenina. Wearing the red leader's jersey, Vos was never in trouble on the climbs of stage 4, staying in the peloton and letting others close the gaps when the attacks flew on the final climb of the day and the descent that followed.
In the fast downhill sprint into Guadalajara, Vos launched her sprint perfectly to win the stage ahead of Emma Norsgaard (Movistar). Marlen Reusser (Team SD Worx) took third ahead of her teammate Blanka Vas.
“It was really nervous today. With the climbs coming up, all the teams wanted to be in front, and all the GC riders wanted to be there if a move would go. The breakaway got quite a big gap, then we took control, and the girls did a really good job of bringing that down. From then on, it was trying to stay in front and in control of the group. I want to thank my team for doing that so well and being there with me in the final,” Vos said.
On the plateau after the Alto de Horche, GC favourites Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team), and Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) were among the riders who attacked to anticipate a group sprint, but their moves came to naught.
“If those two go, you know it’s serious. But there was a lot of headwind that wasn’t in their favour, and we still had Amber Kraak and Riejanne Markus there. In the final, the attack of Reusser was really strong, and Dygert reacted on that,” Vos described the last kilometres.
With time bonifications for her stage victory, Vos extended her GC lead and is now 25 seconds ahead of Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) before the first mountaintop finish of the Vuelta Femenina on stage 5.
How it unfolded
The break of the day formed 44 km into the 133.1-kilometre stage and included Maryna Varenyk (Eneicat-CMTeam-Seguros Deportivos), Olympic Champion Anna Kiesenhofer (Israel-Premier Tech-Roland), Patricia Ortega (Massi-Tactic), and Tota Magalhães (Bizkaia Durango). Nora Jenčušová (BePink) tried to bridge to the front group on her own but never succeeded.
The break had a maximum advantage of 3 minutes, 45 seconds, but a succession of uncategorised climbs saw first Varenyk, then Kiesenhofer and finally Ortega be dropped, leaving only Magalhães in the lead while Team Jumbo-Visma steadily reduced the gap.
Andrea Alzate (Eneicat-CMTeam-Seguros Deportivos) attacked from the peloton and bridged to the front, taking Kiesenhofer with her, but the gap was down to less than 30 seconds by now, and they were caught soon after.
Georgia Williams (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) and Aranza Villalón (Eneicat-CMTeam-Seguros Deportivos) were the next to get away 33 km from the finish. Silke Smulders (Liv Racing TeqFind), Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Team Coop-Hitec Products) and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM) bridged to the front duo, but this new breakaway was reeled in just before the start of the Alto de Horche.
Climbing at an average 4.9 percent for four kilometres and significantly steeper near the top, the climb saw Movistar take responsibility for the pace, trying to reduce the size of the group. Among others, Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ) was dropped halfway up the climb.
Élise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) took the mountain points in the small town of Horche, and Van Vleuten attacked right after the mountain sprint, drawing Vollering out from the pack as well. Mavi García (Liv Racing TeqFind) bridged just before the rest of the peloton caught up to the attackers, and Liane Lippert (Movistar Team), Chabbey, Amber Kraak (Team Jumbo-Visma) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Team SD Worx) immediately launched a counter-attack.
This move was just as shortlived as the one that followed where Van Vleuten and Vollering were joined by Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Riejanne Markus (Team Jumbo-Visma). After a short lull, Canyon-SRAM’s Ricarda Bauernfeind attacked but did not get away – instead, Lippert countered and opened up a gap into the fast descent towards the finish.
Vollering went on a solo downhill chase, catching the German champion, but they were in turn reeled in by the reduced peloton with just under three kilometres to go.
Reusser made a late attempt through a roundabout 500 metres from the finish, but Dygert closed the gap with 300 metres to go. Vos launched her sprint soon afterwards with Norsgaard and Vas in her slipstream. Reusser narrowly held on to third place while Vos beat Norsgaard for the stage by a bike length.
Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.
