"My team was on fire... I’m very happy that our little plan worked out” - Lotte Kopecky takes Red Jersey at La Vuelta Femenina with powerful stage 4 victory

Lotte Kopecky finally has the stage win she had been chasing at La Vuelta Femenina 2026 and, with it, control of the race itself.

After opening the week with two second places and the frustration of her Stage 2 relegation, the Belgian delivered on Stage 4 in Antas de Ulla, sprinting to victory from a reduced group after SD Worx - Protime finally managed to bring back a stubborn late breakaway inside the closing kilometres.

The win also moved Kopecky into La Roja ahead of the decisive mountain stages later this week.

“Relief? Yes, definitely,” Kopecky said afterwards in conversation with Sporza. “The legs and the condition have been there. I kept coming really close, so the important thing was to keep believing in it.”

For long stretches of the stage, however, the outcome remained uncertain.

An aggressive breakaway continued to resist deep into the finale and still held more than a minute advantage with 10 kilometres remaining, forcing the favourites’ teams into an increasingly nervous chase on the rolling Galician roads. “With more than a minute still to the two breakaway riders with 7 kilometres to go, I was also afraid for a moment that it wouldn’t come back,” Kopecky admitted.

That only increased the importance of the work SD Worx - Protime did behind. As the pace lifted entering the final kilometres, the race rapidly swung back towards the favourites and the breakaway was finally swept up with just 2.5 kilometres remaining. “My team was on fire to close down all the attacks and put me into the perfect position,” Kopecky said.

The finale itself then became exactly the kind of chaotic positioning battle that has shaped much of this year’s Vuelta already. Multiple corners and constant movement through the bunch forced riders to improvise rather than rely on a clean sprint set-up. “It was all about positioning. I had to jump from wheel to wheel,” she explained.

Even Kopecky was surprised by how quickly the finish arrived. “Suddenly I saw the finish and I still had my hands on my shifters. So I had to quickly grab the drops to launch my sprint.”

It still proved enough. Kopecky surged clear to secure both the stage win and the overall race lead after earlier bonus seconds from Franziska Koch had briefly strengthened the German’s grip on La Roja.

“I knew Koch had taken two seconds at the intermediate sprint, but that everything was still possible at the finish,” Kopecky said. “So I’m very happy that our little plan worked out.”

After several days spent narrowly missing out, Kopecky now heads into the mountains with both momentum and the leader’s jersey firmly in her grasp.