The Dutch Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) distanced herself from other top riders on the sixth and penultimate stage of the Vuelta Femenina. Franziska Koch has fallen far behind and no longer has a chance of overall victory in the Tour of Spain.
After the field arrived in Les Praeres on Friday on the demanding 3.7 kilometer long and average 13.4 percent steep final climb, the 34-year-old van der Breggen had the greatest reserves.
She crossed the finish line in 3:01:45 hours, making her 8 seconds faster than Paula Blasi Cairol (UAE Team ADQ) and 29 seconds faster than Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike). The three also took first places in the overall ranking.
Niewiadoma a good minute ahead of Ferrand Prévot
Top-class drivers had to be demolished. The Polish Kasia Niewiadoma from the German team Canyon//Sram zondacrypto was in tenth place, 1:09 minutes behind. Tour de France winner Pauline Ferrand Prévot (Team Visma/Lease a Bike, 22nd place) lost 2:06 minutes.
The top German driver Franziska Koch had even bigger problems and ended up 8:13 minutes behind (57th place). The previous overall leader, Lotte Kopecky, only finished in 76th place and lost 10:15 minutes. In the sprint rankings, Koch is still nine points behind Kopecky in second place.
The best Germans on the 6th stage were Ricarda Bauerfeind (Lidl – Trek) in 16th place (+1:32) and Liane Lippert (Movistar) in 30th place (+3:10).
The decision will be made on Saturday
The decision in the overall ranking will only be made on the final stage on Saturday – on the extreme climb L’Angliru. The mountain that men also fear has a maximum gradient of 23 percent over its 12.1 kilometers.
