How the race finished
Puck Pieterse (Fenix Deceuninck) outkicked Demi Vollering (SD Worx Protime) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) to win Stage Four in Liège after the trio went to the line ahead of a reduced chasing group. Vollering retains the overall lead going in to Stage Five tomorrow.
Full results are available below.
How it happened
Stage Four was the first lumpy stage, with numerous categorised climbs as the riders made their way from Valkenburg to Liège. The peloton remained together over the first climb of the day, the Bemelerberg, where Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) picked up the maximum QOM points available ahead of Quinty Ton (Liv AlUla Jayco). As the hills came quickly, Persico added to her tally atop the iconic Cauberg, and again first over the top of the Geulhemmerberg, moving her into the virtual lead in that classification. Persico made it four in a row on the second ascent of the Bemelerberg.
The first major attack of the day came from Sara Martin (Movistar), who set off solo, quickly gaining an advantage of 20″ over the peloton. With the drizzly conditions, the bunch seemed happy enough to let a lone rider up the road, while riding a safe, steady pace behind.
With 73km to go and Martin extending her gap out to over one min, Laura Tomasi (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) attacked out of the bunch. With such a big gap to cross, this was always going to be a tough ask, and sure enough, 10 km later Tomasi was absorbed back into the bunch. The damp conditions were also causing trouble for some riders. A crash by Chloé Dygert (Canyon//Sram Racing) meant that she and teammate Neve Bradbury faced a hard chase back to the bunch.
With 55km to go, Martin, still out front, took maximum points at the intermediate sprint. Behind in the peloton Charlotte Kool (dsm firmenich PostNL) just pipped Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx Protime) in their battle for the sprint jersey.
After a brief interruption to let a train through, the peloton hit the base of Mont Theux with 50km to go. Fenix Deceuninck began hard pacing, setting up Rooijakkers to attack and putting much of the peloton into difficulty. The acceleration meant Martin was quickly caught. At the top of the climb, Yara Kasterlijn (Fenix Deceuninck) took the QOM points from Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance Soudal). Behind, the peloton was in small groups all over the road.
On the Côte de la Redoute Fenix Deceuninck once again set the pace, this time with Puck Pieterse on the front. Over the top of the climb Pieterse took the maximum QOM points, after her QOM-chasing teammate Kasterlijn didn’t quite have the legs to come to the front. There were only about 25 riders remaining in the bunch as they began the descent.
At 24 km to go the peloton hit the start of the Côte des Forges, and the drizzly rain returned again. This time Ghekiere took maximum points, and pressed on over the top. She extended her lead out to over 20 seconds down the tricky descent down towards the base of Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. With 17km to go, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez) crashed. She remounted, but needed to stop again for a bike change.
At the start of the climb, SD Worx Protime led out before Vollering went to the front, setting a high tempo. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing) put in a big attack, and only Vollering, Puck Pieterse and Pauliena Rooijakkers were able to follow. Pieterse went over the top first, taking more QOM points and moving herself into the virtual lead in that classification.
With only 12km to go and the group of four riders just ten seconds ahead of a chasing group, Vollering refused to cooperate. At the bonus second sprint, situated atop of the uncategorised climbs after the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, Vollering took maximum bonus seconds with Niewiadoma second and Pieterse in third. Rooijakkers was dropped under the pressure.
With 10km to go the chasing group had dropped back to 25 seconds behind on the road. EF Oatly Cannondale were working hard in the chase group, but the front three riders showed their descending prowess to only continue to extend their lead.
By one kilometre to go the trio at the front still held a 30 second gap. At 600m out Niewiadoma backed off and attacked down the right hand side, forcing Vollering to react and close the gap. Pieterse bided her time before attacking over the top. Vollering launched her sprint off Pieterse’s wheel and came with speed, but Pieterse just managed to hold on for the win on the line. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal) and Noemi Ruegg (EF Oatly Cannondale) lead home the depleted chasing bunch.
Stage Four Results
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