Vos takes over leader's jersey in fourth stage of La Vuelta Femenina
Marianne Vos has taken over the leader's jersey in La Vuelta Femenina. In the fast stage, she seemed to have a good chance of winning for a long time, but in the end, she had to acknowledge Kristen Faulkner, who soloed to victory through a late attack. Behind Faulkner, Vos sprinted to third place.
In the fourth stage of the first grand tour of the year, the riders had to be careful right from the start. The strong wind quickly caused echelons in the peloton. Vos, Riejanne Markus, and Sophie von Berswordt were alert, and quickly created a gap with fifteen other riders, compared to the thinned-out peloton.
The thinned-out peloton seemed to catch up with the leading group at 60 kilometers before the finish but remained stuck with a half-minute gap. The leading group, with hard work from Vos, Markus, and Von Berswordt, managed to stay out of reach of the thinned-out peloton. In the final kilometers, the American Faulkner ultimately proved to have the best legs.
"The three of us rode well, but unfortunately, one person proved to be too strong"
"Faulkner's attack was very strong," Vos looks back realistically. "It was a tough race from the start. In the beginning, we were maybe a little too far in the back, but fortunately, we were soon able to move to the front. It was good to see that Riejanne and Sophie were also in the front group when the decisive split occurred. The three of us rode well, but unfortunately, one person proved to be too strong. Faulkner is the deserved winner.”
By winning the intermediate sprint and finishing third in the final result, Vos takes over the leader's jersey from Blanka Vas. "It wasn't the main goal today, but of course, it's always nice to ride in the leader's jersey," Vos said.