The fifth and final stage of Gracia Orlová delivered a dramatic close to the race, with Christina Bragh Lorenzen riding to a solo win from a long-range breakaway and Alison Jackson sealing the overall classification after sprinting to third place from the bunch. Held over eight laps of a flat 12.7km circuit in Orlová, the 101.6km stage featured three intermediate sprints that proved decisive in shaping the general classification battle.
With only slender time gaps separating the top of the standings, the stage began at full throttle. Jackson held a one-second lead over Jasmin Liechti and three seconds over Karolina Kumiega, making the sprint bonifications vital. There was no need to hold back, and riders began attacking from kilometre zero.
The first rider to gain a proper gap was Pia Grünewald, who opened up a 50-second advantage before being caught just ahead of the first intermediate sprint. Jackson surged to win that sprint, taking three crucial seconds and stretching her overall lead. With Liechti and Kumiega failing to score, Jackson’s advantage extended to four and six seconds respectively.
Almost immediately after the sprint, Marion Norbert Riberolle and Nina Berton attacked, forming a strong duo up the road. Nexetis led the chase for Liechti and closed the move down before sprint two, where Jackson again took two seconds and Kumiega claimed one. That pushed Jackson’s virtual lead to six seconds over Liechti and seven over Kumiega, placing her firmly in control of the GC.
Lorenzen makes her move
While Jackson’s team EF Education-Oatly focused on controlling rivals and collecting seconds, it opened the door for a stage win from the break. Christina Bragh Lorenzen, third in the previous day’s time trial, launched her move on the fifth lap and immediately looked strong. The Danish rider from Friis ABC ACR built a lead of over a minute as the bunch hesitated.
Behind her, attacks continued, and the most promising chase came from Noor Dekker and Anna Bruneel. Dekker eventually distanced her Belgian companion and began closing the gap to Lorenzen, but it was too late. Heading into the final lap, the Dane still held a 45-second lead.
Dekker clawed back time over the final 10km, but Lorenzen held her rhythm and crossed the line 17 seconds ahead, securing her first international road win. The peloton, which had cut its deficit from over two minutes to under 30 seconds, sprinted for third. Alison Jackson finished best of the bunch, locking in her overall title.
Photo Credit: EF Education-OatlyJackson claims yellow and green in landmark GC victory
For Jackson, the final day was about staying sharp and seizing every opportunity. “We started the week really strong, and it ended up coming down to the wire but we pulled it off. That’s a good weekend in my books,” she said. Her work in the sprints paid off, giving her a final GC margin of ten seconds over Liechti and eleven over Kumiega.
The 36-year-old Canadian also won the points classification and anchored a young EF Education-Oatly team that embraced leadership development in a race without radios. “This race doesn’t allow radios, so there’s more pressure on the road captain to make calls and communicate clearly,” she explained. “That kind of setup puts responsibility on the riders to manage situations in the moment – and we did just that.”
Team director Emma Trott praised the performance and commitment of the group. “Our plan going in was ambitious. We wanted to develop our young riders, go for stage wins, and try to win the GC. It sounds greedy, but we pulled it off.”
One of those young riders, 19-year-old Alex Volstad, had already made her mark with a second-place finish on stage 4.
The other standout was Lore De Schepper, who defended the QOM jersey and was named the most aggressive rider of the race. KDM-Pack topped the teams classification. Kristýna Zemanová was the top Czech finisher on the day in sixth, while Barbora Němcová was the best overall in 15th.
2025 Gracia Orlová Stage 5 result
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2025 Gracia Orlová GC result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Gracia Orlová
