The sixth and final stage of the Simac Ladies Tour was won by Lotte Kopecky. Racing in the streets of Arnhem in the Netherlands, the SD Worx-Protime rider proved strongest, thanks to a phenomenal lead-out by Lorena Wiebes. This victory also secured Kopecky the overall win, as the bonus seconds allowed her to overtake leader Franziska Koch of dsm-firmenich PostNL in the standings.
The final stage held a promise of excitement. After a shake-up in stage four, Koch retained the lead in stage five. The Doetinchem stage was won by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime). Her teammate Lotte Kopecky had crashed in the final kilometer, suffering injuries but still managed to start the last stage. The world champion was eight seconds behind the leader, with Zoe Bäckstedt in between. The final stage proved the toughest, with the hills in and around Arnhem likely to decide the Dutch stage race.
After slow start, race heats up on the hills
The race started off slow, with no early breakaway attempts. With only sixty riders, the peloton stayed together for a long time. Ninety kilometers in, the first attack came: Ilaria Sanguineti (Lidl-Trek) took off solo. However, riding alone against the pack was a challenge, and after nearly an hour in the lead, she was caught by the peloton, which had started the local laps in Arnhem – the finale was about to begin!
The pace picked up quickly. On the short hills, many riders attempted to break away. Just like the previous day, Visma | Lease a Bike was active with riders like Riejanne Markus and Anna Henderson. Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) also tried, but SD Worx-Protime kept control of the race.
The riders still had sixty kilometers to cover. After a small group broke away, Silke Smulders launched a solo attack. The Liv AlUla Jayco rider built a lead of twenty seconds. Behind her, the group was restless, with riders like Femke Markus (SD Worx), Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Longo Borghini attempting attacks, all in vain.
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Smulders puts pressure on SD Worx with strong solo attack
Smulders held her ground, leading solo for over twenty kilometers. Her lead fluctuated around fifteen seconds, making her a clear target for riders looking to attack. However, despite a strong group including Anna Henderson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Christine Majerus (SD Worx) getting close, they were eventually reeled back by the peloton.
After several failed attack attempts, the peloton’s pace eased for a bit. Smulders took advantage and extended her lead to over thirty seconds. With fifteen kilometers remaining, her gap had grown to forty-five seconds. Could she pull off a stunt? SD Worx had other plans. The growing gap prompted them to take charge of the chase.
Due to Wiebes’s dominance in previous sprints, SD Worx couldn’t rely on outside help. In fact, they were joined by Smulders' teammates, who naturally aimed to slow down the chase. Still, SD Worx managed to reduce the gap, albeit with difficulty. Smulders held a thirty-second lead as the bell rang for the final lap.
With just over eight kilometers to go, could Smulders hold on? Or would the SD Worx train catch her? The race reached a nail-biting conclusion. Entering the final kilometer, Smulders had six seconds left. The peloton was right behind her, but few domestiques were left to pull. Wiebes launched an early sprint, with Kopecky on her wheel. It proved to be a golden move, as the exhausted Smulders was narrowly overtaken before the finish line by the world champion, who took the stage victory and, thanks to the ten bonus seconds, also claimed the overall win.
More coming soon!
Results stage 6 Simac Ladies Tour 2024
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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