Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) caught her rivals off guard with a stage-winning solo attack on day four of the Vuelta Femenina.
The American broke clear on a short ramp inside 7km to go, and kicked over its double-figure gradients, hitting almost 70km/h on the descent to the line.
Despite the efforts of a chasing quartet, counting Demi Vollering, Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Faulkner managed to hold onto a 10-second advantage to claim her 10th career win.
The victory was also a historic one. With an average speed of 46.754km/h, Faulkner's win marked the fastest race ever on the women's WorldTour.
Speaking after the stage, the 31-year-old put her triumph down to "a bit of luck and planning".
"I knew I wanted to do kind of a last-minute attack," she said. "I knew that climb was going to be a place where a lot of teams tried to attack, so I actually decided rather than attacking myself, to follow or counter one.
"SD Worx[-Protime] tried a few attacks, and I just kind of hopped on wheels. Demi [Vollering] and Elisa Longo Borghini tried one, and I was right on their wheel. Then I looked back, and we had a small gap, and I was like, 'This is the counter that I have to go on.' It was right before the climb, and it was a great moment."
Faulkner's win brought EF Education-Cannondale's second of the race, after Alison Jackson sprinted to victory on stage two.
"We came to try and win some stages, and we've already won two," said Faulkner. "It's early in the Vuelta and we're already so excited and so proud of what we've accomplished so far."
The American, who made every pedal stroke count, eking out the seconds over the line, now sits third in the GC, up 19 places from the start of the day.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) bunnyhopped Vas to take the race lead. The Dutchwoman claimed six bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint, and grabbed four more with third place on the stage.
How it happened
Heading across the plains of Aragon, stage four offered a mostly downhill profile – something that would have been welcomed by the peloton, were it not for the threat of crosswinds.
Gusts of over 50km/h were forecast in the north-east of Spain, and duly played their part in the race. Inside the first 30km, strong winds tore through the pack, leaving a 19-strong front group jostling up the road.
SD Worx-Protime, counting race leader Vas in their ranks, came off well in the echelons, making up six of the 19-rider group. Also at the front of the race were stage winners Vos and Jackson, while Lidl-Trek were only able to place Longo Borghini in the pack. FDJ-Suez missed the split totally.
The gap to the front group held steady for the majority of the day, teetering around the one-minute mark. With 20km to go, it became clear that the peloton would not regroup. There would be time lost in the GC, notably for last year’s third-placed rider, Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), stranded in the bunch behind that ended up rolling in over two minutes down.
Inside 7km from the line, Vollering was the first to up the pace. The Tour de France Femmes winner began to turn the screw before a 300m climb, paving the way for her SD Worx-Protime team-mate Marlen Reusser to go clear. On the Swiss rider's wheel, however, was Faulkner, poised to counter.
The American led solo onto the descent, and for the ensuing 6km, held off the bunch behind to double up on EF Education-Cannondale's fortunes.
Results
Vuelta Femenina, stage 4: Molina de Aragón > Zaragoza (142.3km)
1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Cannondale, in 3:02:37
2. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco, +10s
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime
5. Sheyla Gutiérrez (Esp) Movistar
6. Maike van der Duin (Ned) Canyon-SRAM
7. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale
8. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL
10. Marlen Reusser (Sui) SD Worx-Protime, all at same time
General classification after stage 4
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 9:59:42
2. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime, +5s
3. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Cannondale, +9s
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +18s
5. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale, +19s
6. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +20s
7. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +21s
8. Marlen Reusser (Sui) SD Worx-Protime
9. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) SD Worx-Protime, both at same time
10. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram, +28s
