Results La Vuelta Femenina 2026 Stage 4 - Lotte Kopecky finally delivers to take Red Jersey as relentless chase ends breakaway resistance

Lotte Kopecky finally secured her first stage win of La Vuelta Femenina 2026 on Stage 4, surviving a tense day of breakaway pressure before winning a reduced sprint after the last attackers were caught inside the final three kilometres and taking the Red Jersey as new race leader in the process.

After twice finishing second earlier in the race and enduring sprint frustration on Stage 2, the SD Worx - Protime rider converted the team’s late chase into victory in Antas de Ulla, where a technical finale and constant attacks had kept the outcome uncertain deep into the stage.

For much of the afternoon, however, the race looked in danger of slipping away from the favourites altogether as a stubborn four-rider breakaway repeatedly resisted the peloton’s attempts to bring the stage back under control.

Several early attacks were neutralised before the stage finally established a more stable breakaway on the Alto de Oural, where Annelies Nijssen and Marine Allione forced clear. The move gradually expanded into a four-rider group as Lauretta Hanson and Marta Jaskulska bridged across, turning what initially appeared a manageable escape into a genuine threat.

The terrain played directly into their hands. Every lull behind allowed the leaders to recover momentum, and with 50 kilometres remaining the gap had stretched beyond three minutes, enough for Nijssen to move virtually into the red jersey. That forced the peloton into a difficult balancing act. Teams had to weigh the importance of the stage against the energy demands waiting later in the week on Les Praeres and the Angliru.

No single team fully controlled the race for long periods. FDJ United - SUEZ, EF Education - Oatly and later SD Worx - Protime all contributed at different moments, but the rolling roads repeatedly prevented the peloton from establishing complete control.

The Alto do Hospital failed to eliminate the main sprint contenders, preserving Kopecky and Shari Bossuyt among the reduced peloton behind.

At the front, though, the climb and the repeated accelerations gradually broke apart the escape itself. Allione secured enough points to move into the mountains jersey before the pace later split the group, leaving Hanson and Jaskulska alone out front entering the final phase. Even then, the pair refused to collapse. With 10 kilometres remaining they still held more than a minute, forcing the chase behind to become increasingly urgent.

The stage never became solely about the breakaway. Every acceleration behind also carried implications for the overall classification, with race leader Franziska Koch and Kopecky starting the day separated by only two seconds.

That tension intensified at the intermediate sprint inside the final five kilometres. Jaskulska crossed first ahead of Hanson, but Koch managed to collect the remaining bonus seconds behind them, slightly strengthening her overall advantage over Kopecky before the finish itself.

The increasing urgency also reshaped the chase completely. Fenix-Premier Tech drove the peloton harder on the climbs into the finale, while Movistar and SD Worx added further pressure as the gap rapidly collapsed. The breakaway’s resistance finally ended with 2.5 kilometres remaining when Hanson and Jaskulska were swept up by the peloton.

Once the regrouping happened, the race immediately shifted from survival to positioning. The technical finale, featuring multiple late corners, turned the run-in into a nervous fight for control. SD Worx managed to place Kopecky exactly where she needed to be, with Anna van der Breggen again heavily involved in the final lead-out.

Liane Lippert launched the sprint first, but Kopecky reacted immediately from behind her wheel before powering clear to finally secure her first stage victory of this year’s race.

After three stages of near misses, frustration and sprint drama, the Belgian finally converted control into victory, moving into the Red Jersey as new race leader as a result.