There is never anything banal about this Tour FemmesThe fifth stage, from Bar-le-Duc to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, is already in history both for its 175,6 kilometers of racing (the longest of the season and overall for women's cycling), both for the success of Wiebes su Balsamo, at the latest chapter of their challenge.
Behind them Marianne Vos, who keeps the yellow jersey (and also the green one) now increasing the advantage over Silvia Persian, seventh at the finish line and always second overall. The order of arrival is tinged with another Italian tricolour thanks to the fourth place of Rachele Barbieri, in sixth place of Maria Giulia Confalonieri and to the eighth of Vittoria Guazzini.
We were saying, Wiebes vs. Balsamo, a challenge that will continue to be debated for many years to come and which is now being updated again on a statistical level. They have finished on the podium together on eighteen occasions, including six times this year..
At the moment the twenty-three year old Dutch girl is leading this particular ranking DSM Team with eleven first places compared to the six of the world champion Trek SegafredoCuriously, the only time they surprisingly finished second and third in a sprint was at the Dwars door de Westhoek in 2018 behind Vietnamese Thi That Nguyen.
Lorena's sprint…
The script was the one that is increasingly seen in women's races, along the lines of the men's ones.Imagine a stage lasting over four and a half hours. She evades the breakaway (of four riders in this case), and the peloton monitors her until they reach a maximum lead of 4 minutes before making a long and relentless recovery, catching the last escapee with 3 minutes to go. Team DSM led the chase for the most part. Wiebes's victory on the stage was a mission..
«I'm very happy, because Franziska (Koch, ed.) made a great effort controlling the race from the beginning – says Lorena, who won her second victory in this Tour Femmes – When the four leaders reached their maximum advantage, she dictated the pace of the group and managed to stabilize the gap. It was an incredible effort, so I'm happy to have capitalized on it with the win.».
«You say I'm the best sprinter in the world – continues Wiebes, who at the end of the season, despite a contract until 2024, is expected to leave her team to move to SD Worx – I don't like to say this about myself.. Today, however, I felt good and I'm very happy with my performance.
«The goal of this Tour Femmes for me it's the green jersey (She has 26 points to make up on Vos, ed.) but we have to try to stay ahead for the general Juliette (Labous, ed.) who is in great form. Today the team made a great collective effort. That's the most important thing."
And Elisa's
A Wiebes like this is hard for anyone to beat, especially if there are unexpected setbacks at the end. Trek-Segafredo overtook DSM in the final kilometers to set up their own sprint for Elisa BalsamoShe pushes along Van Dijk, also because before the red triangle there's a slightly downhill right-hand bend that could create a gap. The European champion takes it in front and gives it another long "train" before handing over to Elisa Longo Borghini on the left side of the road.
But there the Piedmontese is hesitant. At 350 meters, the road turns right, but she takes an escape route on the left.She is very good at staying upright and returning to the tail of the main group without losing further seconds and positions in the general classification.
«It was a very long stage – explains Balsamo as soon as she crossed the finish line, perhaps a little conditioned in the sprint by the wrong maneuver of Longo Borghini – In the race there wasn't a very high pace but in the end we tried to do our best in the sprintAnd it went well. I have to thank my team who did a great job. My teammates were really good at getting me to the front for the sprint».
Wrong curve
"What happened towards the finish line?" Longo Borghini describes that episode. These things happen but it's clear that it was my mistake.I thought I was supposed to go straight, but I didn't remember there was supposed to be a left turn. Obviously, I didn't do it on purpose. It's nobody's fault, only mine. Luckily, everything went smoothly; Vos also did a great trick to avoid me.
«I feel sorry for the whole group because my biggest concern was that I made someone fall. In light of everything, we can have a good laugh about it.. I hope you did too, watching that moment."
The sixth stage, 128,6 kilometers from Saint-Dié-des-Vosges to Rosheim, has a rolling profile even if it will be the last chance for the sprinters who won the two mountain stages. Be careful though, the Cote de Boersch (2 km at 4,4%) At minus 9 it could be the springboard for the big names in the general classification and create more confusion than expected. Because in this Tour Femmes there is nothing trivial.
