Muzic outkicks Vollering at Vinuesa’s Laguna Negra
May 3 rd 2024 - 18:09 [GMT + 2]
24-year-old Frenchwoman Évita Muzic landed an unforgettable victory in the sixth stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es by beating Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) in the last few meters of the climb to Vinuesa’s Laguna Negra. The FDJ-SUEZ rider was the only one who could keep up with the Red jersey’s excruciating pace up the devilish, double-digit gradients of the final kilometer. Muzic sits now 6th on a GC still led by Vollering, who increased her advantage on Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Riejanne Markus (Visma | Lease a Bike). The race goes back to Castilla-La Mancha tomorrow with an uphill finish in Sigüenza.
124 riders took the start in the 6th stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, which covered 132,1 kilometres between Tarazona and Vinuesa’s Laguna Negra, at 13:35 CEST. There were three DNSs: Camilla Bye (Coop-Repsol), Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), who was 8th overall before pulling out from the event. The race started uphill, with 31,5 kilometers which alternated flat and climbing sections, and riding into a remarkable headwind that would persist throughout the day. There were attacks left and right, with groups as strong as 17 riders trying to break away, yet no attempt managed to really go clear within the first third of the stage.
Headwind does not favor the bold
It was at kilometre 47 that Laura Molenaar (VolkerWessels) and Claudia San Justo (Eneicat-CM Team) finally managed to put some daylight between themselves and the peloton. They were joined shortly after by Aurela Nerlo (Winspace) and Fauve Bastiaenssen (Lotto-dstny Ladies). The four-strong breakaway enjoyed a maximum gap of 3’50” at kilometer 70. It was at that point that Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Deceuninck) crashed out of the race. From then on, some agitation by Visma | Lease a Bike combined with some control by SD Worx-Protime steadily reduced their gap until the peloton reeled them back in with 18 kilometers to go, just ahead of Vinuesa (IS, km 114,9). Green jersey Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) came first across the intermediate sprint to strengthen her position as leader of the Points classification.
Vollering takes matter in her own hands
As soon as the peloton began the final climb to Vinuesa’s Laguna Negra (cat 1, km 132,1), Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) started pulling. She marshalled the affairs, reducing the front group down to 20 riders, until 4 kilometers to go. It was then that Red jersey Demi Vollering took matters in her own hands to set a steady pace that enabled her to drop rivals one by one. An attack by Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) with 2 kilometers left to climb picked the pace up for good, leading to a new long, asphyxiating acceleration by Vollering. Only Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) could keep up with the Dutch rider, managing to outsprint her in the final 50 meters of the stage. Meanwhile, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Riejanne Markus (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) crossed the finish line 15”, 17” and 21” in arrears respectively, thus increasing Vollering gap on the GC.
