Marianne Vos of Visma | Lease a Bike claimed a stunning victory in the seventh stage of La Vuelta Femenina, further solidifying her lead in the points competition. It’s her 2nd win this year’s Vuelta Femenina after also winning Stage 3 in Teruel. The stage, spanning 138.6km from San Esteban de Gormaz to Siguenza, concluded with Vos out-sprinting her rivals on an uphill finish, with American Kristen Faulkner of EF Education-Cannondale trailing by two seconds in second place.
The stage unfolded under challenging conditions with strong crosswinds that played a crucial role in the race dynamics, splitting the peloton and setting the scene for a dramatic finish. Behind Vos, Elisa Longo Borghini from Italy crossed the line at the same time as Faulkner to take third place, maintaining her position as a key contender in the general classification.
There were several battles to get involved in the breakaways today with first one group going clear, only to get pulled back through the efforts of Movistar and Visma | Lease a Bike before Anna Kiesenhofer’s solo attack sparked a fresh group to establish a breakaway. The likes of Anya Louw and Carolina Vargas were involved and as it turned out they were perfectly positioned for when the team in yellow and black pushed on with the wind to their advantage.
They split the peloton up into 3 main groups with the likes of Yara Kastelijn, Liane Lippert Antonia Niedermaier and Sarah Gigante all missing out on being in the front group. Movistar put all hands on deck to try and close the gap and despite getting under 30 seconds at one point were unable to regain parity.
A late flurry of attacks from SD Worx’s Mischa Bredewold and Marlen Reusser didn’t disrupt the lead into the climb and it was Kristen Faulkner who paced the majority of the final climb. A kick from Marianne Vos before the top saw her go well clear with a comfortable 2-second advantage by the finish line.
Vos described the team’s strategy saying, “We really wanted to go for the stage win today. That’s why the team controlled the race. Of course, when they do so much work, you want to make it count in the final. It was a bit stressful but when we entered the final kilometre we just tried to stay in the best possible position and go for it.”
Reflecting on the pivotal moments of the race, Vos added, “It was open and there was wind, so there was this possibility of echelons. The last days we didn’t have the wind from the right side but today it was just open and sidewinds, so echelons again.”
(Photo Credit: Alex Berasategi)
Longo Borghini also commented on the race dynamics, appreciating the teamwork that kept her in contention: “We knew that at kilometre 98 there was a possibility of having an echelon, and we were really attentive. Lizzie positioned us very well along with Elynor so we were three in the first split. The girls did a great job covering moves and trying to attack themselves. I tried to follow Faulkner, then I tried to pass her. I tried to go hard from 300m. I knew it was a bit far from the finish line but I had to make it hard, and in the end, it’s a good third place.”
Demi Vollering, 2023 Tour de France winner and fellow Dutch rider, continues to hold the red jersey, finishing fourth on the day. She heads into the final stage with a 52-second lead over Longo Borghini, setting up a thrilling conclusion to the tour, which will feature mountainous terrain including two category-one climbs.
2024 Vuelta Femenina Stage 7 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
