Monumental sprint brace for SD Worx-Protime in Astorga
May 7 th 2026 - 17:17 [GMT + 2]
The fifth stage of La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es was a celebration of the legacy left by architect Antoni Gaudí, as it was set to finish in front of one of his masterpieces, the Palacio Episcopal in Astorga. It was bound to be a monumental victory for whomever was the fastest of the bunch gallop up the final kicker, and it turned out to be Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx-Protime) who raised her arms thanks to her teammate Lotte Kopecky, as the Belgian in La Roja pushed the brakes just on time for the former European champion to overtake her and sign the second straight brace (that is: first and second of the stage) for the Dutch team. As for the rest, it was a straightforward day, with a five-strong breakaway allowing Alice Coutinho (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) to take the polka dot jersey of the QOM classification off the shoulders of her teammate Marine Allione. GC-wise, Kopecky is still in the lead by 12” on Koch and 18” on Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) as her red jersey will be up for grabs in these final two days in Asturias, with two summit finishes awaiting the riders. On Friday will come the sharp, steep climb to Les Praeres. On Saturday, the women’s peloton will discover the gruelling, legendary Alto de l’Angliru.
118 riders took the start in the fifth stage of La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es, which served as a celebration of renowned architect Antoni Gaudí, whose centenary of death is being remembered in 2026. The course of this stage featured two of the only three buildings that the mastermind behind the majestic Sagrada Familia in Barcelona planned outside Catalonia: the Casa Botines modernist museum, near the stage start in León, and the Gothic-styled Palacio Episcopal, right at the finish in Astorga. Both sites were linked by a 119,6-kilometre course, rather flat and inviting for a bunch to gallop. There were many breakaway attempts from the gun. Spanish national champion Sara Martín (Movistar Team) went clear at kilometre 10, to be joined shortly after at the head of the race first by Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Marina Garau (Vini Fantini-Bepink) and later on by Aniek Van Alphen (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Alice Coutinho (Mayenne Monbana My Pie).
Alice Coutinho grabs the polka dot jersey from her teammate
The five-strong breakaway built a sizable gap, timed at 2’43” right at the foot of the Collada de Olleros de Alba (Cat 3, km 42,6). First across its summit was Coutinho, clocking a two-minute advantage on a peloton led by SD Worx-Protime. The Dutch team had two good reasons for pulling, as Lotte Kopecky was both sporting La Roja and hoping to win the expected uphill sprint in Astorga. Coutinho led the breakaway yet again atop the Alto de la Garandilla (Cat 3, km 73,7), as Garau got dropped and the peloton trailed 45” behind the head of the race. The French rider, who was all but assured to unseat her teammate Marine Allione as leader of the QOM classification, was distanced by her breakaway companions and reeled back in by the pack at kilometre 87, when the three women remaining at the front held a 55” gap.
Breakaway over with just 8,5 kilometres to go
Eraso led the breakaway across Castrillo de Cepeda (IS, km 100,6), where the front trio still had 15” on a peloton where Kopecky overpowered Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez) in the Intermediate Sprint to reduce the German’s advantage in the Points classification by two points. Eraso, Martín and Van Alphen were only brought back by the bunch 8,5 kilometres from the finish in Astorga, where a 300-metre final kick with gradients up to 8% awaited the riders. Once there, SD Worx-Protime put on quite a show to grant a stage victory to Mischa Bredewold and secure Lotte Kopecky’s lead in the overall standings, with Liv-AlUla-Jayco’s Letizia Paternoster third across the finish line.
