Every now and then, the parcours and weather in The Netherlands create mud bath conditions for the peloton. That’s exactly what happened in today’s stage four of Simac Ladies Tour with riders and bikes finishing caked in mud. Kasia Niewiadoma relished the conditions to finish second on the stage behind Marianne Vos (JVW).

CANYON//SRAM Racing raced aggressively in the eight-lap circuit around Sweikhuizen with a flurry of attacks setting up Kasia Niewiadoma to launch the final move with just over forty kilometres remaining.

“The team rode aggressively from the beginning of the stage. The narrow roads meant you had to stay attentive the whole time,” said Kasia.

“The team was committed and showed an attitude that we missed on the second stage. Today, everyone today was tuned in and that was so motivating to see. Before the stage, we aimed to win the stage and to keep Lisa in GC contention,” described Niewiadoma referring to Lisa Klein’s fourth place on the general classification at the start of the day.

“From 50km to go, I was thinking about winning this stage. I knew that Marianne is in good shape, and the last 300m flattened off which suits her. I tried to attack at the start of the final climb with 2km left, but I couldn’t shake Marianne. When a win is there within arms reach, I become impatient. Second place doesn’t satisfy me because I want to win,” admitted Kasia.

Tomorrow’s final 149-kilometre stage covers 19 circuits around Arnhem. The tour has had a change in the lead with third place on today’s stage, Chantal van den Broek-Black now the new tour leader. Lisa Klein dropped out of the overall contention and Kasia Niewiadoma is CANYON//SRAM Racing’s best-placed rider in 13th place and +3:46 from the leader.

The final stage of the Simac Ladies Tour can be followed on Twitter with #SLT2021 and #UCIWWT. The live broadcast on GCN+ and Eurosport starts at 12:30CEST.

Facebook

Twitter