The freshly crowned Olympic fourth-place finisher, Kata Blanka Vas, won the fifth stage of the Women’s Tour de France in a small group sprint. Her teammate, Demi Vollering, lost the yellow jersey due to a crash, with Katarzyna Niewiadoma taking over the race lead.
Following two full days and three stages spent in the Netherlands, the peloton crossed into Belgium on the fourth stage on Wednesday and then headed towards France on Thursday. The race continued with a 152.5-kilometre stretch between Bastogne and Amnéville, featuring five smaller categorized climbs and 1820 metres of elevation gain.
A three-rider breakaway led the race for a significant duration, but within the final 20 kilometres, the peloton, with the 22-year-old Hungarian champion from SD Worx-Protime working for the yellow jersey holder and defending champion, Demi Vollering, quickly closed in on the leading group. Although Vas was temporarily dropped from the peloton on one of the climbs, she managed to re-join the group. Six kilometres from the finish, a major crash occurred in a corner, involving around a dozen riders, including Vollering, who continued riding in pain with a one-and-a-half-minute deficit. In the splintered group of about ten remaining riders, the recent Olympic medallist, American Kristen Faulkner, and Vas were present, while Vollering’s teammates attempted to help her regain lost ground. Drawing on her experience from Paris, Vas closely marked Faulkner, responding perfectly to every move. Among the four riders who persevered to the finish, Vas proved to be the fastest in the uphill sprint.
The Hungarian star, who won a stage at the Giro d’Italia last year, donned the red jersey for two days at this year’s Vuelta,
and now has a stage win in the Tour de France Femmes as well.
Vollering finished 1 minute and 47 seconds behind, allowing Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who finished second behind Vas, to take over the yellow jersey.
The week-long, eight-stage race continues on Friday with a 159.2-kilometre stage between Remiremont and Morteau and concludes on Sunday at the legendary Alpe d’Huez. The eight stages fit into seven race days because Tuesday featured a short, approximately 70-kilometre road stage and a 6.3-kilometre individual time trial.
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