Thüringen Ladies Tour: Lorena Wiebes wins stage 5 sprint, takes overall lead

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) won her second stage victory on day five at the Thüringen Ladies Tour in Schmalkalden. The Dutch sprinter was fastest to the line beating Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) and Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT).

Wiebes win also marked the fifth stage win in a row at Thüringen Ladies Tour. She moved into the overall lead ahead of teammates Mischa Bredewold and Lotte Kopecky.

How it unfolded

The penultimate stage 5 at the Thüringen Ladies Tour was a 132.6km race in Schmalkalden. The day started with a 7.7km climb over Oberhof and included three more climbs; Kuhndorf (2.7 at 3.9%), Feldwege (2.8km at 5.7%) and a second time over Kuhndorf before a run-in to the finish line at Schmalkalden.

Three riders broke away over the first ascent, Oberhof; Diane Ingabire (Canyon-SRAM Generation) and Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Parkhotel Valkenburg), with Marla Sigmund (Lotto Dstny Ladies) joining the pair. 

Counterattacks came from mountain classification leader Alice Palazzi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM), but the attackers were caught with 110km to go.

SD Worx led the peloton down the descent off of the Oberhof, with their points classification leader Lotte Kopecky picking up the sprint points in Benshausen.

Laura Molenaar (Parkhotel Valkenburg) attacked out of the field with Franziska Brauße (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) joining her in a breakaway with 58km to go. It was a short-lived move, and they were back in the field just a few kilometres later.

Clara Emond (Arkéa Pro Cycling Team) was the next to attack over the Feldwege, but she was caught over the top as the field split apart. Linda Zanetti (UAE Development Team) counter-attacked and gained a few seconds of advantage and was caught with 45km to go.

More attacks came from Katharina Fox (Maxx-Solar) and then Kopecky and Rosita Reihnhout (Netherlands), and it wasn't until 8km to go that solo attacker Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) gained a slim margin on the field.

SD Worx led the field into the final five kilometres sweeping up Alonso, and despite a late-race attack from Maud Oudeman (Netherlands), the field entered a bunch sprint won by Wiebes.

Results

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