Lorena Wiebes continued her dominant run at the Simac Ladies Tour with a fourth consecutive stage win, outsprinting Chiara Consonni and Shari Bossuyt in a tight finish in Alkmaar. It was her 114th career win and yet another display of her power and positioning in hectic sprint finales.
Stage 4 was raced on a flat four-lap course totalling 125.8 kilometres around Alkmaar. Early chaos came with a crash shortly after the flag drop, which led to the withdrawal of India Grainger. While the wind threatened to split things up, and there were repeated signs of tension in the bunch, no breakaway was given enough room to threaten. Floortje Mackaij did get a short stint off the front with just under 40 kilometres to go, but the sprint teams were too organised. Canyon SRAM, SD Worx-Protime and Liv AlUla Jayco each kept things tight in the final 10 kilometres, teeing up what was always likely to be a big bunch sprint.
Letizia Paternoster was the first to go in the sprint, with Elisa Balsamo opening things up before being swamped by the main contenders. Wiebes launched her move slightly earlier than usual and just held off Consonni, who was closing rapidly in the final metres.
Consonni credited her teammates for the second place, saying, “Finally, one sprint! We worked really good today. I think we really improved on yesterday and the day before.” Canyon SRAM were key to the result, with lead-out work from Maria Martins, Zoe Backstedt, Wilma Aintila and Nastya Kolesava. “In the last kilometre, Zoe and Tata [Maria] did a really good job,” Consonni added. “When I saw 200 metres to go, I said ‘okay, start,’ and I could be there.”
She also pointed out the difficulty in finding space. “I saw that the roads were super small. I was scared that I didn’t have the space to go, but then Tata did a really good job to bring me up.”
The performance was Canyon SRAM’s best yet this week and sets them up for the final two stages. Zoe Backstedt remains 11th overall on the same time as fifth place, with the time trial next on the schedule. She’ll ride in the British national champion’s skinsuit and is targeting the GC climb after recent time trial wins at the Baloise Ladies Tour.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike had a strong showing but missed out on the result. Nienke Veenhoven rode attentively all day and was well-positioned, but the finale proved too chaotic. “In the finale we tried to set up Nienke as best as possible, but unfortunately, it was extremely hectic,” said teammate Lieke Nooijen. “Still, we can look back on a good race.”
The general classification remains led by Wiebes, who has a 30-second advantage over Megan Jastrab. Saturday’s 10.2km time trial from Doetinchem to Westendorp will likely shake up the overall picture and offer the first real chance for a non-sprinter to take a stage win.
2025 Simac Ladies Tour Stage 4 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
