Lotte Kopecky wins stage 4 sprint and takes the Vuelta Femenina red jersey
CyclingWednesday, 06 May 2026 at 17:37
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Follow us on GoogleLotte Kopecky has won stage four of the Vuelta Femenina. The Belgian SD Worx-Protime rider had twice finished second in this race and once been relegated. On day four, everything finally fell into place. SD Worx-Protime chased down a leading duo in the closing kilometres and their team leader delivered.
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On paper, stage four was best described as a classic transition stage. The 115.6-kilometre route from Monforte de Lemos to Antas de Ulla was hilly and took the peloton through Galicia for the last time. A reduced sprint seemed the most likely outcome — but in cycling, the breakaway always has a say.
The early skirmishing was for the mountains classification. Marine Allione and Annelies Nijssen rode clear towards the Alto de Oural, the day's first climb, where Allione crested first. Maëva Squiban attacked from the peloton in search of the mountains jersey and moved into the virtual lead in that classification, displacing Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio.
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A leading group of four, FDJ-SUEZ forced to chase
After several attacks, a leading quartet took shape: Nijssen, Allione, and the joining Marta Jaskulska and Lauretta Hanson. The group was initially given room and built their advantage to more than three minutes. For Nijssen, that was significant — she began the day fewer than two minutes behind race leader Franziska Koch.
That placed the Lotto-Intermarché rider in the virtual red jersey, and with Jaskulska also within 2:22 of Koch in the overall standings, the leading teams had reason for concern. In the peloton, FDJ-SUEZ, Liv-AlUla-Jayco and SD Worx-Protime took up the chase — FDJ-SUEZ doing so in the service of Koch.
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Jaskulska and Hanson dream of victory
As the second categorised climb approached — the Alto do Hospital, 4.1 kilometres at 6.6 per cent — the breakaway's lead began to fall. With around 40 kilometres to go, the gap had come down to just over two and a half minutes. With ten kilometres remaining, it was still one and a half minutes. Plenty to play with.
That was enough for Jaskulska to accelerate at the front. The Pole had given up on any thoughts of the race lead, but she and Hanson drove hard to stay clear of the peloton. At seven kilometres out, the two leaders still had over a minute in hand. There was still reason to dream.
It came down to the wire. Koch grabbed two bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint five kilometres from the finish, and then SD Worx-Protime went all-in for Kopecky. The lead was cut in half in a matter of minutes. With 2.5 kilometres to go, the duo was caught. An uphill sprint followed — and after two second places and one relegation, Kopecky finally got her win.
With the stage win, Kopecky also takes the red jersey. The Vuelta Femenina has a new leader with three stages to go.
Results stage 4 Vuelta España Femenina 2026
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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