After a bunch of close calls in the opening days of La Vuelta España Femenina, sprinter Lotte Kopecky finally got her win on stage 4 using her incredible kick.
The SD Worx-Protime rider had already finished second twice earlier in the race and was even relegated in stage 2, but this time everything came together in the finale.
While on paper the stage itself seemed less demanding than previous ones, the final kilometres were chaotic, with repeated attacks and a breakaway that was only caught late.
Tricky finish
The Belgian entered the final corner in ideal position and launched her sprint to take the victory. The win also earned her the race lead. Teammate Anna van der Breggen finished second, giving SD Worx-Protime a one-two result on the stage.
It was a tricky little finish where positioning was everything. Victoria’s Sarah Van Dam was a bit behind in the finale, but still managed to snag a 6th. Due to time bonuses, she slips one spot to fifth overall, but still very much in reach of Kopecky. She’s just 22 seconds behind. But there are hills a’coming. Oh, there are hills. The GC will most likely be shaking up soon.
But probs not on Thursday.
The hills loom
The Vuelta is now out of the Galician region and will take on a pretty flat day of racing for Stage 5, from León to Astorga for a total of 119.6 km. Kopecky will undoubtedly be looking to take another dub–and perhaps steal the points jersey from Paris-Roubaix winner Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ).
It’s another shot for Van Dam, too.
The next two stages are anything but flat though, so there is very little chance Kopecky will be in the red shortly. Stage 6 is super tough, but Stage 7 is, well, epic. The women’s Vuelta ends for the first time on one of the most dreaded climbs in cycling, the L’Angliru. The men have climbed the 12.3 km climb 10 times–it averages around 10 per cent, but there are some seriously steep sections. In 2025, João Almeida won the stage over eventual GC winner Jonas Vingegaard.
You can watch Thursday’s stage of La Vuelta España Femenina on Flobikes.com. Coverage begins at 9:25 a.m. EDT. Let’s go SVD! (Yes, we are calling her that now.)
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…