Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won her second consecutive stage of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, beating Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-SUEZ) in an uphill sprint.
After the break of the day had been reeled in with 22.4km to go, there were numerous attacks on the finishing circuit, with Sara Martín (Movistar) and Sara Casasola (Fenix-Premier Tech) the most active.
SD Worx-Protime brought things back together 13.5km from the line and then kept the pace high to discourage further attacks. A crash in a corner within the last 5km split the peloton. Most of the sprinters made it through unscathed, but after a lead-out by Barbara Guarischi and Mischa Bredewold, Wiebes was once again unbeatable.
"It was a more difficult finish than yesterday because of the uphill part. The team did an amazing job again with Elena [Cecchini] and Mikayla [Harvey] chasing all day long, and then Blanka [Vas], Barbara, and Mischa did a really great job in the lead-out and delivered me really well," Wiebes said after the stage.
The other teams clearly tried to make it hard for SD Worx-Protime with attacks in the final, but the team stayed in control.
"The girls did really great. We can be happy with how the team worked today, and I’m just happy that I could finish it off once again," Wiebes added.
"Tomorrow is a more difficult stage. We have two climbs towards the end of the stage, but it's good that we have Mischa here who can survive those climbs. I will see how far I can come."
How it unfolded
The 122km stage started in Castrojeriz and celebrated the Ribera del Duero region’s wine heritage, finishing at the Bodega Viña Pedrosa vineyard on the outskirts of Pedrosa de Duero.
Although there were no classified climbs on the stage, this didn’t stop riders from trying to form a break. Nobody was successful in the first 30km, but then Elena De Laurentiis (Vini Fantini-BePink), Marta Pavesi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), and Stine Marie Snortheim (Hitec Products-Fluid Control) got away. Pavesi had been part of one of the earlier attempts as well, and she was awarded the combativity prize for her multiple efforts.
Their advantage grew to almost three minutes with 70km to go, but SD Worx-Protime kept the race under control and brought the gap down to around a minute at the 40km mark. The three escapees just made it to the intermediate sprint in Roa de Duero but were caught soon afterwards.
On the uphill finishing straight with one 19km lap to go, Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Premier Tech) attacked, leading to a front group of 15 riders. When they were reeled in again after just over a kilometre, Martín went solo.
The Spanish champion, living less than 30km east in Aranda de Duero, got a decent gap on her home roads, but the race did not settle down. Casasola attacked from the peloton and bridged across to Martín 15km from the finish.
However, a chase group of 11 riders led by Amber Kraak (FDJ United-Suez) and Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) soon closed the gap, with the peloton not much further behind.
11.5km from the finish, Xaydée Van Sinaey (Fenix-Premier Tech) launched another move. This move grew to 13 riders, but when Morven Yeoman (DAS-Hutchinson) tried to bridge across, she inadvertently closed the gap for the peloton.
On the final kilometres, SD Worx-Protime came to the front in strength to discourage any further attacks, and then the sprint trains started to organise themselves. With 4.7km to go, Clara Emond (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93) went into a corner in second position and crashed, holding up a large part of the peloton and leading to splits in the race.
Most of the riders did get back to the front on the run-in to the finish, and more than 70 riders entered the final kilometre together. Wiebes was led out by Guarischi and Bredewold, with Wollaston and Megan Jastrab (UAE Team ADQ) trying to disrupt the SD Worx-Protime train.
250 metres from the line, Wollaston launched her sprint off Wiebes’ wheel, with Balsamo reacting almost immediately. But as they went left around Bredewold, Wiebes launched on the right side, quickly got up to speed, and beat Balsamo by almost two bike lengths.
Results
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