Lorena Wiebes secured her second consecutive stage victory in the Simac Ladies Tour with a perfectly executed sprint in Gennep. The SD Worx-Protime rider proved once again to be untouchable in the final, outsprinting Clara Copponi and Megan Jastrab from a select group of eleven riders that had broken clear after a day dominated by crosswinds.
The stage was held on Dutch roads, with the peloton tasked with four laps of a 32-kilometre circuit around Gennep. Each lap included the Col de Saint Jean, a short but testing rise, yet the real difficulty came from the strong winds that swept across the Limburg region. The race exploded almost immediately, with the bunch splitting into four groups after just five kilometres. Although the splits were initially brought back together, it was clear that the peloton was riding on edge and further damage was inevitable.
Sure enough, a lap later, the race fractured once more on the very same stretch of exposed road. This time the move would prove decisive. With just under sixty kilometres to race, a powerful group pushed clear. SD Worx-Protime drove the pace with Wiebes, Barbara Guarischi, Elena Cecchini and Femke Markus all present. Lidl-Trek had strength in numbers too, with Elisa Balsamo, Copponi and Riejanne Markus making the split. They were joined by Jastrab of Picnic PostNL, Margaux Vigie from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and the Uno-X pairing of Maria Giulia Confalonieri and Linda Zanetti.
From there, the eleven riders committed fully, knowing the peloton remained close behind. The gap never stretched much beyond forty-five seconds, forcing the leaders to keep the speed high all the way into the final laps. Riejanne Markus tried to upset the rhythm with a late solo attack, but SD Worx-Protime were not to be caught out. The team closed down the move and lined out the sprint to perfection. Wiebes duly finished the job, powering past her rivals to claim another emphatic win.
Behind, Cat Ferguson guided what remained of the peloton to the line, crossing forty-four seconds after the winning group. With back-to-back victories, Wiebes not only tightened her grip on the leader’s jersey but also underlined her dominance in the sprints. The Simac Ladies Tour continues on Thursday with a longer stage of 160 kilometres, starting and finishing in Zeewolde.
Photo Credit: Getty2025 Simac Ladies Tour Stage 2 result
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