OVO Energy Women's Tour: Lizzie Deignan wins stage 5

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Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) has won the OVO Energy Women's Tour queen's stage from a three-rider group. Attacking on the hardest climb of the day with 20km to go, Deignan, Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) succeeded in holding off what remained of the peloton, and Deignan beat Niewiadoma in the sprint for victory. With the bonus seconds on offer at the finish, Deignan also took the green jersey, holding a one-second lead over Niewiadoma ahead of the final stage 6.

Stage 5 through Mid Wales was the hardest-ever stage in six editions of the race. The 140 kilometres from Llandrindod Wells to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells contained 2,206 metres of elevation gain, including the two first-category of Gorddwr Bank and Epynt as well as countless unclassified climbs.

A breakaway of 10 riders formed early in the race. Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb), Georgia Williams (Mitchelton-Scott), Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels-Dolmans), Victorie Guilman (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), Janneke Ensing, Kathrin Hammes (both WNT-Rotor), Alicia Gonzalez, Sheyla Gutierrez (both Movistar Team), and Lisa Klein (Canyon-SRAM) never got much more than 30 seconds ahead of the peloton, though, and they were reeled in with 106km to go.

After the first intermediate sprint in Beguildy, the road slowly started to rise towards Gorddwr Bank. Amalie Dideriksen (Boels-Dolmans), Lauren Kitchen (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), Asja Paladin (Valcar Cylance), Erica Magnaldi (WNT-Rotor), and Aude Biannic (Movistar Team) attacked to form the next breakaway, though Kitchen lost contact on the climb.

Magnaldi led the group over the QOM sprint 2:25 ahead of the peloton, and the time gap grew further to 4:15 at the intermediate sprint in St. Harmon with 56km to go. Paladin had been dropped from the break on the unclassified climb before St. Harmon.

The remaining three escapees were still 3:40 ahead at the 40km mark, putting Magnaldi, 53 seconds behind in GC before the stage, in the virtual race lead. But when Team Sunweb, Canyon-SRAM and WNT-Rotor took up the chase in the peloton, the gap dwindled quickly.

Magnaldi, Dideriksen, and Biannic had 40 seconds left when starting the 3.5km, nine-percent climb of Epynt with 24km to go. Biannic lost contact early on as Magnaldi put on the pressure. The peloton could see Magnaldi and Dideriksen a few metres ahead, and halfway up the climb the break was over as a peloton of about 20 riders caught and passed them.

An attack on the last kilometre before the QOM sprint split this peloton, with Niewiadoma leading Longo Borghini and Deignan over the top 15 seconds ahead of a group of six and more riders further down the road. Overnight race leader Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb) was in a group 30 seconds behind at the QOM, but Lippert later lost contact with this group, eventually finishing 2:19 behind.

The chase groups merged into a peloton of 17 riders that was only 15 seconds behind the leading trio with 14km to go. Niewiadoma, Deignan, and Longo Borghini used a very steep, but unclassified climb to extend their lead while Leah Thomas (Bigla) attacked from the peloton, trying to bridge to the front.

Starting the downhill to Builth Wells at the 8km mark, the front three were 26 seconds ahead of Thomas and 42 seconds ahead of the peloton. When Thomas was caught by the peloton with four kilometres to go, the three frontrunners still had a 24-second advantage, and they held on to 17 seconds at the finish.

Longo Borghini led out her teammate on the finishing straight, and Deignan outsprinted Niewiadoma for the stage win. With one stage to go, Deignan leads the general classification one second ahead of Niewiadoma, with Amy Pieters (Boels-Dolmans) in third place, 32 seconds behind. Deignan now also leads the points classification and is obviously the best British rider as well. Niewiadoma takes the lead in the mountain classification, one point ahead of previous leader Christine Majerus (Boels-Dolmans), Coryn Rivera continues to lead the intermediate sprint classification. Dideriksen won the stage 5 combativity award.

The OVO Energy Women’s Tour finishes on Saturday with a stage from Carmarthen to Pembrey Country Park, including the 8km climb of Black Mountain halfway through the 125.9km stage.

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