‘My teammates were just on fire’ – Lotte Kopecky powers to victory on Vuelta Femenina stage 4

by May 6, 2026

written by May 6, 2026

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) powered to victory on a tough, uphill drag to take the win on stage four of the Vuelta Femenina.

The bonus seconds also enabled her to take the overall race from Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ), who is now the runner-up, six seconds in arrears.

Article continues below

Kopecky has already finished second on two occasions in this race – and was yellow carded and relegated on one other – but now she has the stage win and the leader’s red jersey.

Speaking after the stage, Kopecky said: “We had to be patient; two times second, one time not so great, so… We really believed as a team that we could win, but we had to wait for it.

“It was the easiest stage [so far],” she said. “Some longer climbs but steady, but then this final was really hard. One moment I really thought that we weren’t going to catch the break. Then the pace went so high and in the final three kilometres it was attack after attack. But my team-mates were just on fire and they could respond to all of them. I just had to jump from wheel to wheel and in the end we were in the perfect position.

Of her new position as GC leader she added: “It’s really nice to wear the red jersey but we’re hunting for victories… we passed the intermediate sprint and I saw Franziska going for it and I thought ah, that’s two seconds more [Koch was third and gained two seconds]. But I knew if I won the stage I’d win the red jersey so we focused on that.”

The day – a short one at just 115.6km – followed a familiar pattern with two riders going clear early on, on the first of two climbs. Annalies Nijssen (Lotto-Intermarché) and Marine Allione (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) were joined by Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) and Marta Jaskulska (Human Powered Health) not long afterwards. The quartet drew out an advantage of three-and-a-half minutes, where it stayed for much of their tenure, only coming down as the day’s second classified climb – the Alto do Hospital – approached.

Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, 115.6km in 3:07:11
2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
3. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco
4. Shari Bossuyt (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal
5. Franziska Koch (Ger) FDJ United-SUEZ
6. Sarah Van Dam (Can) Visma-Lease a Bike
7. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar
8. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar
9. Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Pol) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
10. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time

EF Education-Oatly, +12s
4. Anna van der Breggen, SD Worx-Protime, +20s
5. Sarah van Dam (Can), Visma-Lease a Bike, +22s
6. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-SUEZ, at s.t.
7. Loes Adegeest (Ned), Lidl-Trek, +24s
8. Liane Lippert (Ger), Movistar, +26s
9. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, both at s.t.

Explore More

Source link

‘My teammates were just on fire’ – Lotte Kopecky powers to victory on Vuelta Femenina stage 4

Canadiens’ Top Line Must Breakthrough

Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano odds: Who is favored in blockbuster main event?

You may also like