A well-timed sprint from Martina Fidanza netted the Italian racer stage 2 of the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour in a reduced bunch sprint.
Bursting out of the pack on a right hand bend with some 200 metres go, Fidanza (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling clearly outpaced Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx ProTime) and Maria Guilia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility) for the fourth road win of her career.
Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels Women’s ProCycling) finished in the front group to maintain the overall lead for a second straight day.
The sprinters will likely have another chance to shine on stage 3’s rolling stage from Erfurt to Erfurt on Thursday.
How it unfolded
How it unfolded
In a short, rolling, stage run in dry, hot weather, a bunch sprint always seemed the most likely outcome. Perhaps as a result, barring some brief skirmishing over the two minor classified climbs on offer, things stayed fairly calm throughout the first half of 119 kilometres of racing.
One notable effort by Franziska Brausa (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) to open hostilities with 60 kilometres to go failed to gain traction, and it was only thanks to an EF Education-Cannondale attack that a group finally containing 15 riders, including SD Worx-ProTime duo Femke Markus and Christine Majerus struggled its way up to a 30 second-margin. However, due to a lack of clear collaboration and as the sprinters' teams piled on the pressure behind, the race reformed again.
An equally dangerous-looking but short-lived move containing Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) alongside Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek), Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-Sram) Julia Kopecky (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Anya Lowe (AG Insurance-Soudal) did then go clear. However, the closer the finish loomed, the quicker the bunch was to regain momentum and react, and with 16 kilometres to go, there were still 90 riders in the front group.
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling, SD Worx-ProTime and VolkerWessels led into the intermediate sprint at Ronneberg, with neither of the top two GC riders taking a time bonus. Spanish National TT Champion Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal) then made one valiant effort, as did Simone Boilard (Uno-X Mobility), and the Canadian's more prolonged effort, making a fine effort on the fast descents, allowed her to maintain a narrow but tenaciously held gap for several kilometres. However, a searing effort by Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram) saw the Polish star tear past the Canadian on a short uphill, pulling clear a select group of five riders including Boilard, Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx ProTime, Shirin Van Anrooj (Lidl-Trek), Amber Kraak (Netherlands) and Linda Riedmann (Germany).
The four carved opened a 20-second gap as they reached the suburbs of Gera, with enough strong teams represented to perhaps ensure the move would stick. Finally, though, an impressive effort in the bunch led by Human Powered Health sucked them back in again with two kilometres to go. Then while a crash behind left several riders including Marie Schreiber (SD Worx-Protime) on the ground, Ceratizits sustained drive put Fidanza in pole position on the crucial right-hand curve with 200 metres to go - and she immediately repaid her team's hard work for her in the closing metres with a finely timed sprint victory.
Results
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