As it happened: Breakaway hearts broken as the sprinters take stage 4 of La Vuelta Femenina

At last some luck and a consummate performance from SD Worx. They covered every move in the final and were in perfect position going into the crucial final two bends.
Anna van der Breggen was particularly impressive covering Kopecky’s wheel and managing to finish second, holding off Paternoster.

With that win and the attendant 10 bonus seconds, Kopecky moves into the overall lead.

Kopecky took the stage, team mate Anna van der Breggen was second, with Paternoster in third.

Kopecky goes from the 200m mark and takes the win.
There’s drama too as part of the barrier had collapsed, it was well marshalled though and the sprint wasn’t impeded.

Kopecky second wheel into the first bend and the second bend!

There’s a lot movement at the front as riders try to stay out of the wind in the final.

Final kilometre, and positioning is key as we have to sharp turns to come, first left, then right before the closing 300m.

SD Worx on the front again, with numbers.

Movistar keep attacking but they’re going nowhere.

Martín is caught and another Movistar rider goes, it’s Margalhāes.
She’s caught though, and SD Worx nail it.

Koch takes the remaining bonus second. The gap is down to 37 seconds ad there’s a counter attack from Sarah Martín (Movistar).

Jaskulska takes the sprint, but the leader ride through they don’t compete.

Nijssen is caught just before the intermediate sprint. One bonus second for the peloton, then.

Liv-Alula-Jayo are helping the chase now, they have Letizia Paternoster for the sprint.

SD Worx and AG In surname still work, but they’re not making a real dent in Jaskulska and Hanson’s lead.

8KM left and the gap has gone out, it’s 1.12.

Now this is touch and go. Jaskulska and Hanson will certainly take the intermediate sprint, though whether Nijssen is caught by then, we’ll need to wait to find out.

The two biggest engines are alone at the front now, with AG Insurance-Soudal riding on the front, probably for stage 2 winner, Shari Bossuyt.
The gap is 1.11.

Allione is dropped from the leading group and Nijssen is struggling too. This came after an attack from Jaskulska.
Now there are just two women on the front, Hanson and Jaskulska, both WorldTour riders, as opposed to ProTeam riders.

But Movistar realise what the Belgian squad are up to and take up the chase themselves.

Lotto-Intermarché are now close to the front of the peloton, trying to baulk the chase as they have Nijssen up the road.

We do have an intermediate sprint to come, but it’s very late in the day. Only 5.2km from the finish, it could serve as a launch point, or it may not be competed for, the sprinters saving their legs for the finish.

With Cavallar nailing it on the front, SD Worx are showing their stage winning intent, taking chunks out of the breakaway’s advantage. Something will have to change for the break to make it to the line.

Cavallar competed at the Tokyo Olympics, rowing for her country. Today’s fourth stage is only her fifth race day of the year.

SD Worx-Protime are now on the front of the peloton, Austrian climber Valentina Cavallar setting the pace.
Are the team going for the win?

The breakaway’s lead is now 1.56, meaning Koch is now back in the virtual overall lead.

Despite Allione’s sprint for the mountains points, the peloton have taken 20 seconds out of their lead.
It’s down marginally to 2.05.

In the bunch the pace on the climb isn’t high enough to drop many riders, and though the deficit to the leaders is down, it is now steady. If the sprinters get over the top of this we may well see them compete for the win.

On the climb the gap is edging down, though not fast, it’s 2.27 now.

As the breakaway commence the climb they’re 2.45 head, despite the peloton thundering along into the bottom.

The second classified climb of the day is coming up now. The oddly named Alto do Hospital is tough one, 4.1km with an average gradient of 6.6%, though the steady gradient makes it a good climb to get in a rhythm. We start climbing with 38.2km to go.

Annelies Nijssen is a solid all-rounder, performing well on all terrains. She’s also the youngest in the leading group.
That group is currently 3.12 ahead of the bunch.

Allione is in her second year with the Mayenne team, join last season when it was called Winspace Orange Seal. Her best ever result was 6th at the Vuelta CV Feminas earlier this year.

Jaskulska is also a strong rouleur who was the Polish national time trial champion in 2024.

Of the breakaway, Hanson is the most experienced, the Lidl-Trek rider is one of the great engines of the women’s peloton, a real worker for her team, often seen on the front bringing breakaways back.

The peloton is taking a moment to refuel and replenish, riders heading back to the car to collect drinks and food.

And it’s settled again. The peloton are tightly bunched together, while Nijssen, Allione, Jaskulska and Hanson lead by 2.20.

Of those attacks, Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) is the only one to go clear. However, she’s now back in the peloton.
The brakaway have lost a minute of their lead though, it’s now 2.25.

The peloton has become a seething mass of riders, with attack after attack stretching it before it comes back together.

Nijssen, Allione, Jaskulska and Hanson’s lead has now settled at 3.18. Allione is clearly the virtual leader of the race, with Jaskulska in second as she started the day 2.22 behind the lead.

The gap is increasing now, Nijssen, Allione, Jaskulska and Hanson lead by 1.58.

Of the four riders at the front, Nijssen is the best paced on the general classification, the Belgian rider starting the day only 1.58 behind the race leader, Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ).

And breathe. Annelies Nijssen (Lotto-Intermarché Ladies), Marine Allione (Mayenne-Monbana My Pie, Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) and Marta Jaskulska (Human Powered Health) now lead by more than one minute.

Jaskulska reaches the front, she, Nijssen, Allione and Hanson lead by 35 seconds. It’s relentless!

This counter-attack may well bring a reaction from the bunch, it’s only a short stage remember, and some teams may be happier with three, rather than four riders up the road.

The gaps are growing, but now there is another rider in the gap, Marta Jaskulska (Human Powered Health) is chasing the three leaders.
She’s 25 seconds behind with the bunch a further 10 seconds down.

We’ve done 30km and the breakaway is still not formed conclusively, Nijssen, Allione and Hanson lead by only 15 seconds.

There’s another little climb now before a long descent and the bunch has almost caught the breakaway. If and when another group tries to get away this will be a tough day.

There’s a battle going on for the mountains jersey.
While Allione was first over the top, scoring 6 points, with Nijssen taking 4, Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) was third and now leads the classification after Moolman-Pasio was fourth over the Alto de Oural.

It’s all going on now, Nijssen and Allione lead, but Van der Heijden was briefly joined by Josie Talbot (Liv-Alula-Jayco) trying to chase the leaders down.
No can do, though, they’re caught and our leading duo have 1.25.

Fenix-Premier Tech have clearly identified today as a breakaway day. Van der Heijden is the second rider they’ve sent up the road, though she might struggle to close the gap now it’s more than a minute.

On the climb now and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal) might be interested in chasing the leaders down as the South African currently leads the mountains classification.

Annelies Nijssen (Lotto-Intermarché Ladies) and MArine Allione (Mayenne-Monbana My Pie) arę away. The pair have 48 seconds over the peloton.

The day’s first climb comes early in the day, the Alto de Oural starting after 14.1km and covers 5..4km at an average gradient of 4.7%. We’re almost there now.

Don’t worry, another group is now up the road.

Four women attacked, but Maud Oudeman (Visma-Lease a Bike), Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Premier Tech, Ana Vitoriá Magalhāes (Movistar) and Francesca Hall (Mayenne-Monbana My Pie) weren’t allowed to get too far.

There’s little change in the weather for today’s stage, the forecast says the high temperature will be around 16º, with some rain possible and light winds from the north.