Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) won stage 4 of the Simac Ladies Tour, outsprinting a group of twelve riders she broke away with in the last 50 km. Ally Wollaston (AG -Soudal) was a close second, just missing by a bike throw, while Maria Giulio Confalonieri (Uno-X) took third.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won the sprint in the peloton, which finished 36 seconds back.
Franziska Koch (dsm-firmenich PostNL) moved into the leader’s jersey with a 5 second advantage over Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM), and an 8 second advantage over Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime).
Guarischi beat Wollaston by a bike throw (photo: Simac Ladies Tour)
Rider Reactions
Barbara Guarischi: “The team management decided that we (Femke Markus and myself) could go for it. I was very nervous. I actually wanted the peloton to catch us. I am no longer used to going for my own chances. Fortunately, I could use my experience. I knew that Wollaston was one of the fastest women. I kept an eye on her, after which I let her attack first.”
Lorena Wiebes: “It is super nice that Barbara wins. She always works very hard for the team. We knew that she would be one of the fastest of that group. We were still left with the general classification. Lidl-Trek didn’t do anything in the chase, so in the end we had to ride in front. I wanted to help myself, but Lotte said I shouldn’t. How we’re going to tackle the last two stages? We still have to see. It’s going to be a tough last stage.”
Franziska Koch: “It was a pleasant surprise today. We were all sharp in our attacks throughout the day, and I managed to get into the right move that made it to the finish. It was quite a good situation for us, as I had a strong chance of moving up in the GC, and we still had a very fast rider, Charlotte, in the peloton if things came back together. That allowed me to really commit to the breakaway and keep the gap as wide as possible. I am very happy that it was enough in the end to take over the leader’s jersey.”
Ally Wollaston: “I have mixed feelings about the race today. On one hand, I’m really happy to be competing at this level again and to be on the podium in a World Tour race. I haven’t been on the podium since the start of the year, so it’s really nice to be back at this level of racing. On the other hand, I’m quite disappointed not to have been able to finish the job for the team. I had two teammates in the breakaway with me today who were pulling all day—they were amazing. So, I’m a bit sad not to take the win for them after such a great effort, but I think we can still be really happy to have had three riders in the front group. We really took the race on today, and I’m proud of the way we worked together as a team.”
Eva van Agt (6th, stage 4): “When I attacked, I was able to get away with a large group. In the leading group, we then rode hard and were able to build a nice lead. The plan was to attack from the leading group, but unfortunately, the pace remained very high, so this didn’t work out. Then it was good positioning in the last kilometer, and sixth place was the highest we could achieve.”
Bäckstedt, Korevaar, Campbell, Koch, Wiebes (photo:Simac Ladies Tour)
How It Happened
It was a chilly start to the 118.2 km stage, with many in the peloton dressed in gloves, booties, and leg warmers. After around 50km of racing, Teniel Campbell (Liv AlUla Jayco) went on the attack and forced a gap of ten seconds on the peloton. Five kilometers later she was joined by Julia Borgström (AG Soudal) and the two were able to increase their lead to 23 seconds with 55 km to go.
Behind, an attack by Eva van Agt (Visma | Lease a Bike) with around 52 km remaining helped a group of 12 riders break free of the peloton and within a couple kilometers they joined the two leaders.
In this lead group of 14 was Koch, Swinkels, Markus, Guarischi, Schweinberger, Ton, Van Agt, Pluimers, Borgström, Berteau, Confalonieri, Campbell, Wollaston, Bertizzolo
Over the next 30 kilometers, this group would increase their gap from 20 seconds to almost 2 minutes.
With 20 km to go, the peloton upped the pace, with SD Worx-Protime leading the charge, even though they had two teammates, Markus and Guarischi, in the lead break.
But the lead group was not slowing down, and with 12 km to go they still had more than a minute on the chasing peloton.
At the 5 km mark, the leaders had a healthy 45 seconds and it appeared likley that the winner of the stage would come from this group of what was now 13 riders.
At the 2 km mark, Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) went to the front and drove the pace for teammate Karlijn Swinkles.
As they passed the 1 km mark, the lead group still had a 42” gap and began setting up for the sprint.
At 500 meters, Teniel Campbell (Liv AlUla Jayco) went to the front and led out the sprint, and from behind a fast-charging Ally Wollaston (AG-Soudal) emerged with Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) on her wheel. The two rode neck-and-neck to the line with Guarischi winning by a bike throw and letting out yell as she crossed the line taking her first victory this season.
RESULTS: Stage 4 Ede (118.2km)