Marianne Vos claimed final victory in the overall classification of the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, successfully defending her lead on the final stage into Barcelona, won by New Zealander Ally Wollaston (AG Insurance-Soudal).
After claiming the top spot on the GC at the Pyrenean summit finish of La Molina on Saturday, overall Vos finished 1:06 ahead of Visma-Lease A Bike teammate Riejanne Markus, with Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) in third at 1:14.
Stage 1 winner Wollaston clinched a second triumph at the end of the rugged 86.6 kilometre trek from Molins de Rei to Catalan capital city Barcelona, outsprinting Vos and Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-SUEZ) in a mass dash for the line.
"After the unexpected win at La Molina, I knew the possibility was there to win the GC. We wanted to keep control in the race today and stay out of trouble. That worked out really well. In the sprint preparation we lost each other a bit and Ally proved herself the fastest. At the beginning of the week I didn't expect to win the classification, so that's very special," Vos said.
The final dash for the line on the Avinguda Maria Cristina in central Barcelona had been preceded with an action packed day, starting with a lone move by Leonie Laubig (Primeau Vélo-Groupe Abadie) that endured until the first climb of the day, the cat 2 Alt de Casots. And no sooner had that attack been brought back, than Markus, second overall behind Vos, made her own, ultimately unsuccessful, bid for lone glory.
The most dangerous move came on the final ascent of the stage and race, the cat.3 Alt de Begues courtesy of Aileen Shweikart (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ). After crossing the summit of the climb at km 61, Adegeest tried to keep her move alive on the long descent to Barcelona, finally getting reeled in almost within sight of the finish.
The last stage eventually concluded as a bunch sprint that was a near carbon copy of the Volta’s opening day of racing to Manresa, as Wollaston once again outpaced Vos to claim the win. On this occasion, though, Vos was able to capture an even bigger prize, claiming a historic overall victory in a hugely successful first ever edition of the women’s Volta a Catalunya.
Results
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