Vuelta a Burgos Report / Discussion: Wiebes relegated, crosswind chaos on stage 2
For a few brief moments, Lorena Wiebes was two-for-two for stage wins at Vuelta a Burgos, capitalizing on a leadout from SD Worx teammate Demi Vollering to take a three-rider sprint against Canyon-SRAM’s Chloe Dygert. But after the race, the UCI determined a minor interaction between Dygert and Wiebes was enough to relegate the race leader to third, moving Vollering onto the first step and Dygert into second.
That wasn’t the only drama on the day. The stage from Sotresgudo to Lerma was a fast one and crosswinds split the peloton, taking a handful of key riders out of GC contention ahead of the mountain top finish that will conclude the four-day race.
“It was racing from the beginning on, we had crosswinds almost all the time, or a tailwind so it was a super fast stage,” Wiebes said at the finish. “The group went smaller every time it was crosswinds.” Riders who lost time include UAE Team ADQ’s Silvia Perisco and the FDJ-Suez duo of Grace Brown and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
The relegation for an illegitimate sprint was due to a moment in the final 500 meters where Wiebes appears to slip when crossing from the smooth strip at the centre of the road onto the cobbles to start her sprint. The slip caused her to bump into Dygert who was riding in line with Vollering at the time.
Vollering, the top favourite, remains in a perfect position to take the overall on Sunday, and after stage 2 it looks like one of her main rivals will be AG Insurance – Quick Step’s Ashleigh Moolman Pasio. The South African rider was able to remain in the front split of the peloton and sits 18 seconds behind Vollering overall.
The second stage of Burgos was yet another example of the strength of SD Worx, with Wiebes and Vollering finishing one-two and Marlen Reusser finishing ninth and remaining part of the GC battle going forward.
Discussion – have your say in the comments:
-A little bump, maybe accidental, and well before the actual sprint; was that really worthy of a relegation?
-Who lost out worst in the crosswinds?
-Stage three is a flat one where Wiebes will be favored again, but stage four has three climbs, including an 11.7 km Hors Categorie summit finish. Will SD Worx dominate or is Vollering’s lead comfortable enough they’ll let a break go?
Brief results:
- Demi Vollering (SD Worx)
- Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM)
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) relegated, same time
- Tamara Dronova-Balabolina (Israel-Premier Tech Roland) :@ :07
- Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) @ same time
Overall classification:
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx)
- Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) @ :04
- Demi Vollering (SD Worx) @ same time
- Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) @ :15
- Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM) @ :19
