When Kopecky realised that Bredewold would ride to victory without any danger, she slowed down well before the finish line and thus slowed down the competition even further as she skilfully blocked the lines. Letizia Paternoster (Liv Jayco AlUla) finished third.

It was Bredewold's first win of the season and the 20th of her career. Last year, she narrowly missed out on first place at the Vuelta. "The final today was actually very similar to last year, when I came second," said the 25-year-old about the 120 kilometres from León to Astorga. "I'm very happy that the team gave me the freedom to sprint. Of course we didn't want to throw away Lotte's red jersey, it's too valuable for that. That's why we had imagined a dream scenario that looked exactly as it did now, with Lotte on my back wheel."

Koch chooses the wrong direction in the final

Thanks to the additional bonuses for second place, Kopecky was able to extend her lead in the overall standings and now has a twelve-second advantage over Franziska Koch (FDJ United - Suez). The German champion chose the wrong line in a hectic finale with a sudden downpour, a crash and a roundabout 500 metres before the finish and was only able to finish seventh after a 400 metre sprint. Liane Lippert (Movistar Team) was unable to take part in the decision this time.

However, Kopecky's days in red may also be numbered. The last two stages end with a mountain finish. The favourites there are different. Her team-mate Anna van der Breggen, for example, or Kasia Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto).

Vuelta Femenina 2026 - Results of the 5th stage

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How the 5th stage of the Vuelta Femenina 2026 went

Attacks, counter-attacks, more attacks - and after 15 kilometres the breakaway group of the day was formed. The breakaway group had never been so competitive during the Vuelta. In the end, the Spanish champion Sara Martín (Movistar Team), Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Premier Tech), Alice Coutinho (Mayenne Monbana My Pie), Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi) and Marina Garau (Vini Fantini - BePink) made it.

The quintet built up a maximum lead of three minutes and subsequently fed off this. Coutinho secured the two mountain classifications in the 3rd category, making her the third woman to score twelve points and take the mountain jersey.

Garau lost his strength on the second climb, but the rest only had a lead of just under a minute with 45 kilometres to go. The route then led almost exclusively downhill. Coutinho was no longer able to follow and dropped back into the peloton. The remaining trio kept their lead constant for a long time, with half a minute remaining with 20 kilometres to go.

Five hectic final kilometres

Nine kilometres before the finish, however, the peloton had caught up. In the finale, the peloton rode into a thunderstorm. Rain and wind from the side affected the sprint preparations, and a crash tore the peloton apart one and a half kilometres before the finish. A roundabout 500 metres from the finish did the rest - where Koch, among others, chose the wrong side.

And so the list of women who were in contention for victory became even shorter. Bredewold then set off in the sprint for Kopecky. But the Belgian decided not to pass her team-mate. And so it was another double victory for SD Worx - Protime.