Setmana Valenciana: Elisa Balsamo sprints to stage 4 win

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Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won the final stage of the Setmana Valenciana in a bunch sprint following an attacking day of racing into València, as Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime) sealed the overall victory.

Balsamo outsprinted Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) and Nadiaf Quagliotto (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) who took second and third place respectively - taking her second stage victory in this year's edition after her sprint win on stage 1.

Reusser, who takes the general classification win, began the stage with an 8-second advantage over Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) and save for a long solo attack on the Puerto de L'Oronet, it was unlikely the long run-in to the finish in València would allow for a disruption to the order at the top.

A break of three, including Alice Wood (Human Powered Health), Aileen Schweikart (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) and Andrea Alzate (Eneicat-CM Team), broke clear early on the stage. 

The trio hovered around a minute ahead of the peloton. However with the approach to the queen climb of Puerto de L'Oronet - 5.6km at 4.8% - the peloton pulled back the three escapees and the peloton was together with a little under 40m remaining.

Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) attacked the peloton a few kilometres below the Puerto de L'Oronet summit and went over the top to take the QOM points. Beyond the summit, the pack pulled all the riders together to lay the ground for a sprint finish on the shallow descent into València.

Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) then animated the final with an attack with 1.5km remaining, but was caught below the flamme rouge as the sprint trains began to move into formation, and Lidl-Trek delivered Balsamo to victory.

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