Riejanne Markus on her fourth stage victory - "I knew it was close, so I didn't look back and hoped I would make it"

Riejanne Markus won the fourth stage of the Simac Ladies Tour. She was the first to attack in the final kilometers and managed to hold the gap till the finish line.

She says she was aiming for this stage since the start, "We were really looking forward to it,” said Markus. She continues, “Because the previous stages were jumping stages, and there it is difficult to beat Lorena. Then you have to come up with something and that's why Anna Henderson went on the attack early today."

However, when the team’s plan failed and the breakaway was caught, Markus took responsibility and started to climb the mountain with her full strength. "When she was caught back, I knew the moment had come for me to attack. That it succeeds is really cool. My coach told me not to look back and to keep on pushing towards the finish. I knew it was close, so I didn't look back and hoped I would make it," said Markus.

Markus says her role is over now, and she will focus more on supporting her team in the last two stages of the tour. "I am really looking forward to it. The course suits me perfectly. But we still have several options and Karlijn Swinkels and Anna Henderson are still very high in the rankings,” concluded Markus. She currently holds 13th position in GC, 58 seconds behind overall leader Lorena Wiebes.