The Dutch favorites have hit the table in the first high finish of the Spanish women’s first round. The Team SD Worx cyclist, Vollering, beat Annemiek Van Vleuten this time to win the fifth stage of the Spanish round. Vollering’s victory in Segovian lands places her in first position in the general standings with two stages to go and serves to snatch the title from her. jersey red to the also Dutch Marianne Vos, who had prevailed in the last two stages, much more flat than this Friday.
The 129 kilometer route between La Cabrera (Madrid) and the Mirador de Peñas Llanas (2nd category port) has put the cards on the table. The calm in the peloton lasted 14 kilometers, until the attacks and escape attempts began. Then, six cyclists including the Spanish Isabel Martín (Eneicat-CM Team) and Susana Pérez (Cantabria Deporte-Río Miera) stood out with a half-minute advantage before reaching the Puerto de Navafría (category 1). It was one of the great attractions of the route, with 11.5 kilometers in length and an average slope of 5.8%.
The port ended the adventure of the six breakaways and made a selection in the peloton, where only 25 cyclists remained. The leader until then, Marianne Vos, was also claimed as a victim, who lost contact with the group and ended up giving up three minutes in this section. The Dutchman managed to make up time in the final section of the stage, but even so she has fallen to 13th place overall (1 ′ 45 ″ behind the leader Vollering). For her part, Elise Chabbey (Canyon // SRAM) crowned the Puerto de Navafría in first place to extend her leadership at the head of the mountain classification.
Once the first obstacle was overcome and despite the fact that the leading cyclists were losing ground with the pursuers, the final break in the group did not come until 2 kilometers before the finish on the hill. It was then that Vollering launched an attack that only Van Vleuten, Bauerfeind, Muzic and Realini managed to counter. Van Vleuten (the only representative of Movistar at the head of this stage) tried it 500 meters from the finish line, but his attack was sterile and the victory went to Vollering, who has between eyebrows dethroning his compatriot, with whom It doesn’t have much chemistry.
As for the Spanish representation, which has a difficult time in a sport dominated by the Dutch, Margarita Garcia Cañellas continues to be the best. The Liv Racing Teqfind rider finished the stage in tenth position and is ninth overall, 1′ 28″ off the lead.
Vollering has won a battle against Van Vleuten, but not yet the war. The 40-year-old Movistar cyclist is second overall, just five seconds behind the leader and everything points to an exciting outcome in the two remaining stages: Saturday’s mid-mountain stage between Castro Urdiales and Laredo (Cantabria) and Sunday’s, with a hilltop finish between Pola de Siero and the Covadonga Lakes (Asturias). The emotion is served.
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