🚴♀️Met nog 🛣️32 kilometer te gaan heeft Silke Smulders @GreenEDGEWCT nog ⏱️13 seconden voorsprong. #SLT2024
What a performance! Wiebes' perfect lead-out propels Kopecky to overall win in Simac Ladies Tour
CyclingSunday, 13 October 2024 at 13:23
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.
Read more below the tweet.
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.
🚴🇳🇱 | Silke Smulders redt het niet, net niet... Lotte Kopecky wint in Arnhem, voor Wiebes, en dus pakt de Belgische ook het klassement! Wat een ontknoping! 🙌🇧🇪 #SimacLadiesTour 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
More coming soon!
Results stage 6 Simac Ladies Tour 2024
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024