Vollering drops Van der Breggen on brutal climb, wins stage 5 solo at Vuelta Femenina and takes leader’s jersey

After Anna van der Breggen surprisingly won the fourth stage on Wednesday, Thursday was set to be the first real battle between the women for the GC. Even before the 120.4-kilometer stage got underway, there was breaking news from Spain. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who had lost time the day before on a relatively easy climb, would not be starting. According to her team, Visma | Lease a Bike, the French rider was not fit enough to continue. Audrey De Keersmaeker (Lotto) also withdrew, while Spela Kern (Cofidis) crashed in the neutralized zone, ending her Vuelta adventure.

In a hectic opening phase, many riders tried to break away. Lea Lin Teutenberg (Lotto) was the first to try, followed by Lily Williams (Human Powered Health). Neither rider managed to get away, which prompted Dutch rider Maaike Coljé (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Spanish rider Marina Garau (BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni) to try together. That duo attack was also unsuccessful in the end.

As a result, it took a quarter of the stage before the decisive breakaway was made. Teutenberg had managed to break away after her earlier attempt, together with Dutch rider Maike van der Duin (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Swedish rider Julia Borgström (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Italian rider Arianna Fidanza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacíon Euskadi). The peloton allowed them a maximum lead of just over three minutes.

Before the riders tackled the final climb to Lagunas de Neila, the final began with the Alto de Rozavientos. It was the same climb as the final climb but without the last three kilometers. With an average gradient of 7.6% and a length of almost four kilometers, it was already a pretty tough climb, especially since the kilometers leading up to the climb were also uphill. On the first uphill sections, the peloton had already closed the gap to just over a minute, after which Borgström shook things up at the front.

The acceleration of the Swedish rider did not last long, as the breakaway riders were caught at 27 kilometers. FDJ-SUEZ took the lead of the peloton and set a steady pace. As a result, Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) quickly fell behind, as did Jeanne Koorevaar (Liv AlUla Jayco). Not much later, red jersey wearer Femke Gerritse suddenly crashed. The Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime remained on the ground for a while, but she managed to continue despite visible pain.

At the front of the peloton, FDJ-SUEZ was still setting the pace. The French team continued to reduce the size of the peloton in support of Vollering. As a result, Neve Bradbury, the designated leader of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto, also had to drop back early on. However, Évita Muzic, Vollering's teammate, had to drop out before the top. This left the Dutch rider alone, more than 22 kilometers from the finish. At the back, we still saw a lot of riders falling behind.

With only fourteen riders at the front, the women began the descent. Like the day before, several daredevils tried to make a difference on the descent, but no one managed to break away in the run-up to the final climb. As mentioned, the final climb was the same as the Alto de Rozavientos, but with three steep kilometers to Lagunas de Neila on top.

Several riders, including Liv AlUla Jayco leader Mavi García, had caught up during and after the descent, so we started the final climb with a slightly larger group. Mareille Meijering (Movistar) decided to anticipate and accelerated solo at the front. At the same time, Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), after consulting with Van der Breggen, tried to catch up with her compatriot—a clever tactical move by SD Worx-Protime, which put the ball in FDJ-SUEZ's court.

When Meijering was caught, the battle began again. Paulina Rooijakkers was the first of the favorites to try, after which Van der Breggen closed the gap. Vollering followed close behind. But not for long, because she made her move three kilometers from the top. Only Reusser could keep up for a while, but Vollering's pace was too high on the steep sections. She arrived at the finish line solo, where a red jersey was waiting for her.