Another great race for the team Alé BTC Ljubljana and a great Marta Bastianelli today won the fifth stage, the hardest, of the 19th Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche, in France. In program 113,5 kilometres, with departure and finish in Saint-Jean-en-Royans, that the Italian athlete has spent almost completely on the attack, signing a beautiful enterprise. She won by detachment, preceding of 22 seconds the American Emma Langley (Team TIBCO – SVB) and of 41 seconds the Dutch Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo).
Very good also the Spanish Mavi Garcia, already third yesterday in the fourth stage, who ended the day in fourth place with a delay of 2’04” from Bastianelli, but kept up the pace of the leader Leah Thomas (Movistar Team) who, with two stages to go, is now in second place with only 10 seconds of delay in the General Classification.
The winner Marta Bastianelli tells us about her day. “From kilometre ten I went into a breakaway. It was a tough and demanding stage, there were three of us and then before the last climb Lucinda Brand joined us. On the climb I feared Spratt, because we know her climbing skills, but she broke away with Brand and then I decided to take advantage of their moment of difficulty, I broke away and with a regular pace I was able to take off the wheel even Langley who had tried several times to attack me. After the climb, the descent and ride towards the finish and I gave it everything I had. That was good. I’m happy. I felt good and I knew that to win I had to take advantage of a breakaway from afar. It was tough, but I’m happy for my condition in view of the important appointments ahead of me”.
Tomorrow sixth stage Anduze – Goudargues (km 138.5) and Tuesday the last stage Le Pouzin – Privas (km 81.5).
ROAD EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – Yesterday in Trento took place also the road race of the Road European Championships Women Elite won by the Dutch Ellen Van Dijk. Seventh place for the Swiss Marlen Reusser, back from the success of the European time trial title, thirteenth the Slovenian Eugenia Bujak. The Italian Tatiana Guderzo and the Russian Anastasiia Chiursina after the initial work didn’t finish the race.