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Vuelta Femenina: Van Vleuten takes lead, Realini wins stage on photo finish

06-May-2023 15:47:04 | The Guardian

• Demi Vollering loses red jersey as Movistar attack in crosswinds
• Realini pips Van Vleuten on the line for first World Tour win

World road champion Annemiek van Vleuten wrestled over control of the La Vuelta Femenina ahead of the Sunday’s final stage, putting more than a minute into her rival for the red jersey, Demi Vollering, on the bumpy road to Laredo.

After Vollering’s (SD-Worx) statement victory on stage five to take a narrow, five-second lead into La Vuelta’s sixth and penultimate stage, Van Vleuten needed to respond if she wanted to defend her title. The Movistar rider did just that, taking the field apart on the first climb and only narrowly being denied the stage victory by Gaia Realini (Trek-Segafredo) – the Italian’s first victory on the Women’s WorldTour – by a photo finish.