Lorena Wiebes makes it two from two on stage five of the Women's Tour 2021
The Dutch rider clearly likes to be beside the seaside, winning another bunch sprint while Vollering retains the GC lead
It was deja vu on stage five of the AJ Bell Women’s Tour on Friday, Lorena Wiebes taking a second consecutive stage win in Clacton.
Mirroring the previous stage, the Dutch rider lost her DSM team lead out in the final, but led round the final, wide bend opening her sprint immediately and taking a 12th win for the season.
Newly crowned world champion Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Travel and Service) took second place, while Drops-Le Col’s promising young sprinter Marjolien van’t Geloof bagged her first WorldTour podium in third.
On what was the flattest stage of the week, there were no dramas for overall leader Demi Vollering who maintained her substantial lead on general classification.
Britain’s Hayley Simmonds had the ride of the day, heading up the road early on and building a lead of 4-30, before being caught late in the stage.
Saturday’s sixth and final stage is the longest of the week and could prove a challenge, as though the route between Haverhill and Felixstowe travels on narrow winding roads, and though there is little in the way of climbing, it’s up and down for most of its 153km.
How it happened
Like Thursday’s fourth stage, the penultimate day was held on the roads of South Essex, the peloton set to ride a 95.4km route starting in Colchester and finishing in Clacton. Indeed the seaside town saw the race twice, as it first dropped south to the coast though the line before tackling a large loop north to the River Stour coast and returning to the finish.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
After a few jabs and parries at the front, former national time trial champion Hayley Simmonds (CAMS-Basso) made a move, quickly building a lead which settled for a while at 1-30. After remixing static for a while the peloton were clearly happy for the Cambridge based rider to have her lead, letting her advantage grow to two minutes.
As the race approached Clacton for the first pass of the finish another Brit, Connie Hayes (AWOL-O’Shea) attacked out of the bunch. However, though she was able to get a gap on the pack, who dropped to nearly four minutes back, she was unable to gain ground on Simmonds, who led her by 2-50.
Simmonds continued strongly, extending her advantage on Hayes and leading the bunch by 4-40 with 50km remaining. However, it was around here the lead began to come down, Hayes being caught with 40km to go, and Simmonds’s advantage dropping under four minutes.
By the time they dipped below 30km remaining the advantage was down to 2-20 and Simmonds’ fate was sealed. This was confirmed when three women launched in pursuit off the back of a small climb in Manningtree, the BikeExchange duo of Sarah Roy and Ane Santesteban joining queen of the mountains, Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) building a lead of 20 seconds on the bunch.
However, those three were soon caught by a peloton now set on a bunch kick and even Simmonds tenure at the front only lasted a few kilometres more and she was caught 16km out.
In the remaining kilometres a number of women tried launching attacks, but only Liv Racing’s Soraya Paladin gained any ground, the bunch catching her with more than five kilometres remaining, and setting the race for the sprint finish.
AJ Bell Women’s Tour, stage five: Colchester to Clacton Race (95.4km)
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) DSM, in 2-19-53
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service
3. Marjolein van’t Geloof (Ned) Drops-Le Col
4. Chloe Hosking (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
5. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
6. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) Liv Racing
7. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Alé-BTC Ljubljana
8. Sheyla Gutiérrez (Esp) Movistar
9. Amy Pieters (Ned) SDWorx
10. Amber van der Hulst (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg, all at same time
General classification after stage five
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SDWorx in 12-00-37
2. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 1-09
3. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-19
4. Amy Pieters (Ned) SDWorx at 1-19
5. Aude Biannic (Fra) Movistar at 1-33
6. Leah Kirchmann (Can) DSM at 1-46
7. Joss Lowden (Gbr) Drops-Le Col at 1-47
8. Alice Barnes (Gbr) Canyon-SRAM at 1-51
9. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (Ned) SDWorx at 1-52
10. Pfeiffer Georgi (Gbr) DSM at 1-53
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, covering professional cycling and specialising in women's road racing. He has followed races such as the Women's Tour and Giro d'Italia Donne, live-tweeting from Women's WorldTour events as well as providing race reports, interviews, analysis and news stories. He has also worked for race teams, to provide post race reports and communications.
-
Tweets of the week: Tadej Pogačar's special nutrition isn't as pro as you think
The Giro d'Italia winner has his own Italian dish
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Unbound Gravel vs. UCI Gravel: How I'd set up my bike for gravel’s top races
I tried to make the ideal race steed for both ends of gravel cycling spectrum and got wonderfully lost in the details on the way there
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published
-
Shortened Tour of Britain Women added to UCI's 2024 calendar
Four-day event added to calendar in spot previously held by the Women’s Tour
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Lizzie Deignan: 'It’s a shame someone can’t see the value of the Women’s Tour'
The Women’s Tour’s only double winner expresses her disappointment after the cancellation of the 2023 race
By Owen Rogers Published
-
Women’s Tour axed for 2023 due to lack of cash
Long term future of the standard setting British race remains uncertain after fruitless search for financial backing
By Owen Rogers Published
-
Women’s Tour fundraising campaign receives public backing from Alastair Campbell
Tony Blair's former comms director highlights major role played by race in growth of women’s cycling
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Three weeks to save the Women’s Tour as organiser launches crowdfunding campaign
Race is looking for £100,000 to fill funding hole
By Vern Pitt Published
-
Women’s Tour down to five stages as organiser makes plea for sponsors
Race organiser SweetSpot says event "urgently requires additional commercial income"
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Global backers in talks over new British WorldTour team
Former management of Ribble Weldtite courting interest in new project
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘Current WorldTour system is killing all the smaller teams,’ says Reinardt Janse van Rensburg
South African ex-Lotto Soudal rider fears more teams could find themselves in B & B Hotels-KTM situation if the system doesn’t change
By Tom Thewlis Published