Simac Ladies Tour: Lorena Wiebes dominates with fifth sprint victory on stage 6 finale and claims overall title

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), once again, dominated the sprint with a fifth victory on stage 6 at the Simac Ladies Tour, where she also claimed the overall title for the second time in her career.

Wiebes capitalized on strong teamwork from SD Worx-Protime during the entire stage, and in the closing kilometres of the race, but in the last few hundred metres, she launched her sprint off of Visma-Lease a Bike's train to claim the stage victory.

Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) was forced to settle for second while Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) took third in Lichtenvoorde.

Wiebes, who won the opening four stages and the finale of the Simac Ladies Tour, secured the overall title ahead of Balsamo, with Megan Jastrab (Picnic PostNL) finishing in third place overall.

"How did I manage to start fresh here? It's a long season anyway. We've been going since the beginning of February. So it's important to build in moments of rest now and then. After the Tour de France Femmes, I took some time off, took a step back and enjoyed life. That helps you to be fresh at the start. You have to keep enjoying it. Mentally, I still feel fresh. You have to, if you want to win," Wiebes said.

"We were determined to finish on a high note. The only way to do that was to win this stage as well. There was a crash on the first gravel section, but luckily, I was able to steer around it. Then my teammates parried the attacks perfectly and took control. They also brought me perfectly into the final kilometre. This is a remarkable achievement by our team. We're definitely going to drink a glass of champagne to celebrate."

How it unfolded

The final stage at the Simac Ladies Tour offered a 156.5km race starting and finishing in Lichtenvoorde, where Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who had won four stages, began the day in the overall classification lead.

While the course was pancake flat, the peloton did contest several short gravel sectors in the first half of the race, and then three shorter finishing circuits.

High winds and echelons have been the theme this week during the Dutch race, and that was no different on stage 6 as the peloton began to split apart at 95km to go.

Josie Talbot (Liv AlUla Jayco) was the next to launch an attack, pushing her lead out to more than two minutes with 60km remaining, but with SD WOrx-Protime setting a fast pace at the front of the peloton, her chances of staying away were slim.

A crash among the peloton took down several riders with 31km to go, just ahead of a left-hand turn along the narrow roads.

As Talbot was caught, there were multiple counterattacks, especially from Liv AlUla Jayco, inside the final 20km, but all were marked by SD Worx-Protime, holding the field together in hopes of another sprint finale.

Jeanne Korevaar (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Nicole Steigenga (AG Insurance-Soudal) attempted a two-up breakaway, but were quickly caught.

Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) was the next to break the elastic band, and Valerie Demey (VolkerWessels Cycling) jumped on her wheel, with the pair gaining 10 seconds on the field at the start of the last lap.

The pair were soon caught with new attacks forming in the final 10km of the race, but SD Worx-Protime had a stronghold on the front of the peloton. Floortje Mackaij (Movistar) attacked with 9.8km to go, but she too was reeled in.

As SD Work-Protime set up for the final, it was Visma-Lease a Bike that came through as the dominant team in the final kilometres, pulling the peloton onto the last straightaway.

However, it was not enough to hold off Wiebes, who launched her sprint from about 300 metres out and finished several bike lengths ahead of Veenhoven and Balsamo for her fifth stage win of the week, while also securing the overall title.

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling