On the 142-kilometre stage 4 from Molina de Aragon to Zaragoza, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) attacked 5.5 kilometres before the finish from a smaller group of five riders, who were able to break away from the rest of the leading group. Because there was a disagreement between the prominent riders around Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Demi Vollering (SD Worx - Protime), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Blanka Vas (SD Worx - Protime) as to who should take over the chase after Faulkner's attack, the US-American was able to break away. As a result, Faulkner put in a strong solo and saved a lead of 10 seconds over the competition.
Vos new leader in the overall standings
Behind Faulkner, there was a sprint for second and third place in a larger chasing group. The podium places were snatched by Geogia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike). The latter took the overall leader's red jersey after third place and thanks to bonus seconds in intermediate sprint classifications. Stage winner Faulkner moves up to third place in the overall classification. For the EF Education-Cannondale team, meanwhile, it is their second stage win at the Vuelta Femenina 2024 after Alison Jackson's success on stage 2.
"We came to the Vuelta to win stages. We've already won two stages and it's still early in the Vuelta. We are incredibly proud of our performance." - Kristen Faulkner in the winner interview
Vuelta Femenina 2024: Results - the top 10 of stage 4
- Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) 3:02:37
- Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:10
- Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:10
- Blanka Vas (SD Worx - Protime) +0:10
- Sheyla Gutierrez (Movistar) +0:10
- Maike van der Duin (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:10
- Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) +0:10
- Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:10
- Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:10
- Marlen Reusser (SD Worx - Protime) +0:10
Vuelta Femenina 2024: The current standings in the overall standings
- Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) 9:59:42
- Blanka Vas (SD Worx - Protime) +0:05
- Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) +0:09
- Elisa Longo-Borghini (Lidl-Trek) +0:18
- Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) +0:19
- Riejanne Markus (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:20
- Demi Vollerung (SD Worx - Protime) +0:21
- Marleen Reusser (SD Worx - Protime) +0:21
- Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx - Protime) +0:21
- Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:28
How the 4th stage of the Vuelta Femenina 2024 went
There were no clear attacks at the start of the flat, mostly even downhill stage. Nora Jencusova (Bepink-Bongioanni) did manage to break away a little, but the peloton was complete again 20 kilometres into the race.
A short time later, side winds caused the formation of wind groups. Around 20 riders were able to open up a gap around 110 kilometres before the finish and from then on formed a leading group. Many of the classification riders were represented in this group: The current overall leader Blanka Vas (SD Worx - Protime) was in the group alongside Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Demi Vollering (SD Worx - Protime) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing). Other riders such as Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Layco) and Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), on the other hand, failed to position themselves at the front in the winds and had to chase a gap.
The leading group managed to keep their chasers at bay, while the peloton rolled back together behind the leaders. Lidl-Trek and Movistar, among others, tried to narrow the gap. The gap was between one and two minutes. The attempts to get closer to the front were therefore unsuccessful. In the end, the peloton finished around two minutes behind the day's winner.
Around six kilometres before the finish, Kristen Faulkner came out of a smaller leading group and distanced her rivals. Thanks to a strong performance, the US-American celebrated the stage win, while the 15-strong chasing group behind her decided the remaining podium places among themselves ten seconds later. The peloton crossed the finish line around two minutes later.
