The 127.5-kilometre final stage of the Tour de Suisse Women delivered a dramatic conclusion, starting and finishing in Champagne, on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel. With two classified climbs and over 2,100 metres of elevation, the stage was set for an exciting battle.
From the outset, Lidl-Trek dictated the pace, reducing the peloton to around 30 riders on the first climb after just 11km. A breakaway soon formed, featuring Urška Žigart and Nienke Vinke, who built a two-minute lead with 77km remaining.
A group of six riders, including Juliette Labous and Niamh Fisher-Black, soon launched a chase. The peloton, led by Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, allowed a group of dropped riders to rejoin, including those from SD Worx-Protime.
As the leaders’ advantage shrank, Žigart and Vinke were caught by the chase group. On the final climb to La Vue des Alpes, Niedermaier, Fisher-Black, and Labous emerged as the strongest, while Lidl-Trek’s Gaia Realini set a punishing pace in the peloton, whittling the group down to 11 riders.
In the final kilometres, Brodie Chapman’s efforts ensured the two groups merged with 12.5km to go. An aggressive series of attacks followed, culminating in a four-rider sprint finish. Demi Vollering launched her sprint with 200 metres to go, clinching her third stage win in four days and securing the overall victory.
Demi Vollering expressed her delight, saying, “I didn’t expect to win today, but it was really nice to sprint again. I didn’t do that for a long time, and I really like to sprint in a final like this. It was a really strong battle with the girls in front.” Reflecting on the race’s significance, she added, “It’s kind of a home race, so I’m really happy that I could win. They were really nice stages, and it’s a good feeling already towards the Tour de France.”
Elisa Longo Borghini finished second on the stage and third overall, praising her team’s efforts: “We really wanted a hard race, and then it was a little bit of a poker game when the breakaway went. But we were confident in Brodie because she was virtually in the third spot, so we just let her go.”
Neve Bradbury, who finished third on the stage and second overall, commented, “Today’s final was brutal. Our best chance at winning the stage and securing second on GC was to tire Longo Borghini, so we went full gas, attacking one after another until we had nothing left.”
Canyon SRAM had a successful tour, with Bradbury winning the Best Young Rider jersey and finishing second overall. Teammates Kasia Niewiadoma and Antonia Niedermaier also performed strongly, finishing fourth and sixth in the general classification respectively.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Kasia Niewiadoma said, “It was such a crazy final with plenty of attacks and attempts to get away solo! We knew Neve had secured the GC podium in that group thanks to the bonus seconds at the finish line, so we wanted to focus on stage victory.”
In the aftermath of the race, Juliette Labous reflected on her performance and the overall race: “Today was a good day for us, where we were really active in the race. I’m confident for the next races that my shape will be even better thanks to this race!”
2024 Tour de Suisse Women Stage 4 result
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2024 Tour de Suisse Women GC result
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