The team always knew that stage 6 was going to be a day of attacks and relentless pace for setting up GC riders before heading into the mountains tomorrow.
After a hugely impressive day on the front for the team yesterday, Franziska Koch got herself into a strong breakaway of fourteen riders that stayed away for most of the stage following a very fast first hour of racing. The teams missing from the break kept the pressure on at the front of the bunch, keeping the advantage under control. With 22 kilometres to go on the penultimate descent Lorena Wiebes unfortunately came down in a crash that resulted in her losing contact with the main bunch. Following checks on the road she was about to push on and finish the stage.
With Wiebes out of contention for the stage, the plan switched to Pfeiffer Georgi, Liane Lippert, and Juliette Labous setting a furious tempo to chase the remaining breakaway riders up the road that had a gap of around one minute. With 11 kilometres to go, there were three riders at the front of the race attacking one another into the final climb. Lippert attacked hard over the top of the final climb to get a gap before it quickly got brought back on the fast, technical descent into the finish.
The final breakaway rider got swept up on the descent as the pace ramped up into a hectic finale. Labous and Lippert stayed in touch with the GC favourites and finished safely within the bunch.
After her crash at today’s stage, Wiebes suffered a few abrasions and needed stitches on her elbow. Despite this, she is doing well. She will be monitored closely overnight before assessing if she’s OK to start tomorrow’s stage.