The second edition of the Women's Cycling Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region offered plenty of action and ended in a breakaway victory: When a few gaps opened up in the peloton on the final climb in Stuttgart around three kilometres before the finish, three riders managed to break away. They were Mareille Meijering (Movistar), Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ), who were then to decide the victory between themselves. While Nooijen attacked quite early in the final sprint, Gasparrini waited until 100 metres before the finish before attacking. The Italian rider overtook her two rivals to win the race.
Salmon's courage goes unrewarded - Gasparrini wins
Around 20 kilometres before the finish, Marta Lach (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team) escaped the competition and rode ahead as a soloist for a long time. The Polish rider fought valiantly for the solo victory, building up a lead of almost a minute in the meantime. In the end, it wasn't quite enough for the Polish rider to take the stage win, as she was swallowed up by the peloton around three kilometres before the finish. Especially the UAE Team ADQ around Gasparrini worked hard in the peloton to close the gap. The team from the United Arab Emirates succeeded in their endeavour, allowing Gasparrini to take the stage win. Lach showed morale in the end and finished in a respectable fifth place.
Women's Cycling Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region 2024 - Results: the top 10
- Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) 2:53:26
- Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:00
- Mareille Merijering (Movistar) +0:00
- Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility) +0:02
- Marta Lach (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team) +0:02
- Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) +0:02
- Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team) +0:04
- Ava Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) +0:04
- Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team) +0:04
- Floortje Mackaij (Movistar) +0:04
How the Women's Cycling Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region went
The 118.2 kilometre one-day race between Böblingen and Stuttgart was opened by race director Lisa Brennauer. The first attacks followed shortly after the start of the race. Pia Grünewald (LTK Team), among others, tried her luck, but did not manage to break away decisively. Meanwhile, the World Tour teams UAE Team ADQ and above all Lidl-Trek controlled the pace in the still complete peloton.
An increase in pace by the three riders Magdalene Lind (Team Coop-Repsol), Marieke Meert (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team) and Martina Testa (Bepink - Bongioanni) was also neutralised after a few kilometres. The race was bumpy for a long time, with repeated changes of pace due to attacks. Cat Ferguson's (Movistar) attempt was also quickly parried by the peloton around Lidl-Trek.
Yampura and Dijkstra seek to escape to the front
Anabel Fernanda Yampura (Team Komugi - Grand Est) was the first rider to be let off the leash 70 kilometres before the finish. However, she was also caught by the attentive peloton after 10 kilometres. A short time later, it was Anneke Dijkstra (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team) who then managed to break away a little further as a soloist. The Dutchwoman had a buffer of around a minute over the peloton.
After an attack by Eva van Agt (Visma | Lease a Bike), a group of six riders caught up with Dijkstra in the lead with 20 kilometres to go. In addition to the two Dutchwomen, Mareille Meijering (Movistar), Marta Lach (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck), Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) and Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team) were now also at the front of the race.
Lach sets himself apart
From the leading group, it was Marta Lach from Poland who launched an attack and was able to break away from the competition, while the chasing group was caught by the peloton again. For a long time, Lach fought energetically for the leading position and the stage win, but was caught about three kilometres before the finish.
Mareille Meijering (Movistar), Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) briefly opened up a small gap to the peloton and came onto the finishing straight in threes. There, the Italian came out on top ahead of Nooijen and Meijering.
