Simac Ladies Tour 2024: Final in the blink of an eye! Kopecky snatches overall victory from Koch on stage 6
Thomas Huber
· 13.10.2024
The Simac Ladies Tour 2024 ended with a finale that was hard to beat in terms of excitement. Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) rode in the breakaway for a long time. The soloist put up a brave fight against the approaching peloton and was caught just a few metres before the finish. The two riders from Team SD Worx - Protime Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes overtook the Dutchwoman shortly before the finish line and not only ensured Kopecky's stage win, she also won the overall classification of the tour.
Koch narrowly misses out on overall victory
Even before the final 6th stage, the German Franziska Koch (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) was still the overall leader of the Simac Ladies Tour 2024. Her closest rival was eight seconds behind her: it was the reigning world champion Lotte Kopecky. The two riders crossed the finish line at the same time, but because Kopecky won the stage and was awarded a time bonus of 10 seconds, she overtook Koch in the overall classification at the last second. The 24-year-old German finished eighth in the final 6th stage. In the overall standings, she can be pleased with a strong 2nd place.
Simac Ladies Tour 2024 - Results at a glance
Stage 6: Arnhem - Arnhem
Simac Ladies Tour 2024: Stage 6, Arnhem - Arnhem
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team SD Worx - Protime | 03:44:49 |
| 2 | Team SD Worx - Protime | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Fenix-Deceuninck | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Liv AlUla Jayco | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Lidl - Trek | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Uno-X Mobility | +00:00:00 |
How the 6th stage of the Simac Ladies Tour 2024 went
The final and 6th stage of the Simac Ladies Tour covered 145.8 kilometres and started and finished in Arnhem. The start of the stage was calm. There were hardly any attacks at the beginning and, despite a moderate pace, it took quite a long time for a rider to break away.
Runaway without success
It took over 50 kilometres of racing before Ilaria Sanguineti (Lidl-Trek) took heart and broke away from the peloton as a soloist. At one point her gap was a maximum of two minutes, but her lead quickly shrank again. Above all, the SD Worx - Protime team ensured that the gap quickly closed again. The Italian was caught again 59 kilometres from the finish. The race then picked up a little more speed.
The race pace gets faster
Several attacks followed. First Linda Riedmann (Visma | Lease a Bike) attacked, then a group led by Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) tried to break away. Further attacks followed soon after, but were not crowned with success. With 38 kilometres to go, the time had come: Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) escaped from the peloton and opened up a gap. The Dutchwoman bravely defended herself against the peloton and even took over the virtual overall lead of the tour at one point. Behind her, smaller groups repeatedly attacked in order to take up the chase to the front. However, these were all parried for the time being.
Smulders' tour de force is not rewarded
In the end, it was just not enough for Smulders to win the stage. While she still had a 43-second lead over the peloton with 15 kilometres to go, her advantage gradually dwindled. In a dramatic finale, the Dutchwoman was caught just a few metres from the finish and overtaken by Lotte Kopecky in the battle for the stage win. The Belgian not only won the 6th stage, but also the overall victory of the tour, which she snatched from Franziska Koch.
