Barbara Guarischi secured her first victory in 16 months (and first top-level win in 9 years), winning stage 4 of the Simac Ladies Tour in Ede. The SD Worx-Protime rider emerged victorious in a 14-rider breakaway sprint, holding off Ally Wollaston and Maria Giulia Confalonieri, who completed the podium.
Guarischi was surprised by the outcome, stating, “The day was not supposed to go like this, but luckily, we were two in the breakaway, and the girls did an amazing job behind to chase as much as possible. When we were in the breakaway, the sport director decided to give us a chance. I actually hoped the girls would chase back because I’m not used to going for the victory anymore, so I was a bit nervous.”
The Italian had been part of a strong breakaway group that formed midway through the 118.2km stage, which consisted of three laps around Ede. Teniel Campbell and Julia Borgström initiated the move with 71km to go. Their attack was soon joined by 12 others, including Guarischi, Wollaston, Confalonieri, and key contenders such as Franziska Koch and Karlijn Swinkels.
Despite efforts from the peloton, led by SD Worx-Protime, the breakaway gained nearly two minutes on the bunch. Lotte Kopecky and other members of SD Worx-Protime chased hard, but the gap never closed enough, allowing the breakaway group to contest the sprint.
“I knew I was fast, I knew that there were other fast girls, but I tried to stay calm and use more head than power in the finish,” Guarischi remarked. She timed her sprint perfectly, waiting for Wollaston to start her long effort before coming around in the final turn. “I knew that Wollaston was fast, so I waited until she was more nervous than me, passed me, and started the sprint early, and then I could come back.”
The efforts of Franziska Koch ensured she moved into the overall race lead. Koch had entered the day 31 seconds behind yellow jersey holder Zoe Bäckstedt, but her place in the breakaway meant she finished 36 seconds ahead of the peloton, more than enough to take the lead.
Photo Credit: GettyKoch’s team played a pivotal role in keeping the gap substantial, and she sacrificed her chances of a stage win to focus on securing the yellow jersey. As the riders approached the final lap, the breakaway’s gap stood at 1:55 minutes, ensuring the peloton could not catch them in time.
While Koch didn’t contest the sprint, her consistent work in the group means she now leads the General Classification, with Bäckstedt dropping to second and Kopecky trailing by just eight seconds.
Guarischi’s victory also marked SD Worx-Protime’s third stage win of the tour, following Lorena Wiebes’ sprint victories on the previous stages. Wiebes, wearing the green points jersey, crossed the finish line in the peloton and later spoke to Wielerflits about the team’s performance. “It’s super nice that Barbara wins. She always works very hard for the team. We knew she was one of the fastest in that group.”
Despite the win, Wiebes acknowledged the challenge posed by the General Classification battle. “We had to lead the chase, and I wanted to help, but Lotte said it wasn’t the right time. As for the last two stages, you’ll see what we decide to do.”
The stage’s aggressive racing saw multiple attacks, starting with Campbell’s solo move early in the second lap. After a series of failed attempts from the peloton, the final group of 14 riders gained a substantial advantage, with Koch and Wollaston among those contributing to the pace.
As the breakaway approached the last 5km, it became clear that the peloton would not catch them. Bertizzolo led the group into the final kilometre, but Wollaston launched a long sprint, which served as an ideal lead-out for Guarischi, who capitalised in the final metres to win.
Koch, crossing the line in fifth, secured the yellow jersey and now heads into the penultimate stage with an eight-second lead over Kopecky.
2024 Simac Ladies Tour Stage 4 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
