After a conservative start, Marta Jaskulska lit up the Vuelta a España Femenina by launching an 82 km breakaway on stage 4 from Monforte de Lemos to Antas de Ulla.
“That was hard, but I enjoy that,” Jaskulska said at the finish. “The girls were collaborating super well and, with Lauretta, we tried to go all in together because then we had to put all the rest of our power down.”
Bridging across to Lauretta Hanson (Lidl–Trek), Marine Allione (Mayenne Monbana My Pie), and Annelies Nijssen (Lotto Intermarché Ladies) early in the stage, the 26-year-old raced well all day, with the gap climbing well over three minutes.
13 kilometers from the finish, the puncheur attacked, dropping Allione and Nijssen, with only Hanson joining her.
The duo saw their initial one-minute, twenty-second advantage steadily cut to 46 seconds before a late climb and increased peloton pace – sparked by a counterattack – reeled them in just 2.6 kilometers from the finish.
This set up a mass sprint at the end of the 115.6 km stage, won by Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx – Protime). Titia Ryo then brought the team home, finishing 18th on the day.
Jaskulska highlighted her Factor OSTRO VAM’s performance as a key factor.
“The bike is amazing, especially for maintaining an aero position,” says Jaksulska. “I have enjoyed riding it from the moment I got it. It is aerodynamic but also lightweight, which makes it ideal for stages that are up and down all day long.”
She also pointed to a disciplined nutrition strategy, using Science In Sport in-stage and Momentous products for recovery.
“I focused on following my nutrition plan, which for today was SIS gels and 40 g of carbs from Beta Fuel in the bottle to stay hydrated but also to get a good source of energy,” explains Jaskulska. “For the last and hardest part, I also took some caffeine gels to wake myself up a bit for the finale.”
Elsewhere, in the battle for the general classification, climber Barbara Malcotti has had a consistent first half of the Vuelta. Finishing within the lead group on every stage, the 26-year-old sits in 22nd place on GC as part of a cluster of riders 26 seconds off the red jersey.
Tomorrow’s stage 5 is the only day with under a thousand meters of total elevation gain. Although a stage earmarked for a bunch sprint, the final 300 meters rise at 4.5%. It’s then on to the weekend, where the GC will truly be settled on Friday’s 3.9 km at 12.6% Les Praeres climb, followed by the mighty 12.1 km at 10.3% L’Angliru on Saturday.
Stage gallery
Photos: GettySport and Oskar Scarsbrook
