02/05/2024

Destructive Demi Vollering takes first victory of the season on stage 5 of La Vuelta Femenina and moves into Red Jersey

Demi Vollering has bounced back from a somewhat disappointing Classics campaign by her own high standards to take her first win of the season in style on stage 5 of La Vuelta Femenina 2024, moving into the Red Jersey in the process.

Despite the summit finish and the end of the stage, no riders were willing to try to get ahead of the bunch early on and as such, no breakaway was formed. With the peloton easing along, Red Jersey Marianne Vos was thankful for the relative calmness when she went down in a crash in the bunch with just over 50km to go.

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Also at around 50km to go, Lourdes Oyarbide of Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi attacked out front, giving the peloton a dangling carrot to chase. Once the first categorised climb of the day began however, Oyardbide was quickly swept up by the bunch. Despite a number of attacks on the climb, a slightly dwindled peloton held the front of the race over the summit.

Almost immediately on the descent however, Lidl-Trek's former Red Jersey wearer, Gaia Realini hit the deck although she quickly was back on her bike. Despite a few more attacks on the road between the penultimate climb and the finale, only Queen of the Mountains Karlijn Swinkels was able to get a proper gap. With 3.2km to go though, she too was caught.

With the pace high at the front, it didn't take long for the peloton to explode on the final climb with a mass of riders, including race leader Vos, straight out the back of the group. Before long, Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Mavi Garcia were also struggling as Demi Vollering took to the front. Into the final kilometre, only Elisa Longo Borghini and Yara Kastelijn were still alongside Vollering.

Rather than launching any brutal attack, the consistently high pace was seeing rider after rider drop off Vollering's back wheel and with 700m to go, Longo Borghini and Kastelijn were distanced with the Team SD Worx - Protime leader moving clear solo. Behind it was Kastelijn who took second.