In some ways, stage 4 of La Vuelta Femenina felt like a typical Grand Tour stage: A breakaway of four enjoyed a healthy lead, but a sprint finish looked inevitable – until Marta Jaskulska (Human Powered Health) and Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) left their companions Annelies Nijssen (Lotto-Intermarché) and Marine Allione (Mayenne-Monbana-My Pie) behind and really gave the peloton a run for their money, only being caught within the 3km mark.
“It was a really nice day out there. I had three other riders with me, we had good cooperation, and I really believed that we were going to make it to the finish,” Hanson said.
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Allione had gone on the attack early on and was first over the Alto de Oural to score her first six mountain points. On the Alto do Hospital, she sprinted away from her companions to take another six points. This put her on twelve points, the same as Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), but Allione took the lead due to having won two third-category mountain sprints to Squiban’s one.
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