Marlen Reusser of team SD Worx took a solo victory at the rocky stage 4 of Tour de France Femmes. Marlen blew off the tension which was building up due to the mechanical errors the team had faced previously on the tour. The race began on 27th July, Wednesday and spectators stood witness to the best form so far of the Swiss cyclist.
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Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) gave a tough match to Marlen inside the final two climbs, but Marlen stood her ground. She launched an attack as soon as she saw an opportunity, and from there she managed to stay in the lead up until the finish line at Bar-sur-Aube. Taking a visible delight in her win, she took to the media to show gratitude towards her team:
The team had the plan to make a hard race and not let it come down to an easy final. We would attack and one would go, and I was lucky it was me
Furthermore, she looked even more thankful as she said:
We have our GC leaders, we always keep them in front, but then this team always has an aggressive and open race strategy. Everyone is allowed to do something. I was really the lucky one who could go today, so I’m really thankful
The day was full of errors and mishaps also. Stress could be sensed in the very air everyone breathed. Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) fell victim to the stressful environment as she was hit by the car of her very own team. Even though she was going at a very high speed, she managed to just escape the crash with some road rashes. After she fell down, realizing what had happened, she hoped on her bike, to continue the chase dauntlessly.
The sports director Rubens Bertogliati acknowledged that the gravel-ridden stage 4 was indeed very dangerous. In his own words:
It was dangerous, maybe too dangerous, and too difficult for the girls. The gravel was very hard
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Results
| POS | RIDER | TEAM | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marlen Reusser | Team SD Worx | 03:16:30 |
| 2 | Evita Muzic | FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope | + 01:24 |
| 3 | Alena Amialiusik | CANYON//SRAM Racing | + 01:24 |
| 4 | Veronica Ewers | EF Education-TIBCO-SVB | + 01:24 |
| 5 | Marianne Vos | Team Jumbo-Visma | + 01:40 |
| 6 | Lotte Kopecky | Team SD Worx | + 01:40 |
| 7 | Silvia Persico | Valcar-Travel & Service | + 01:40 |
| 8 | Ruby Roseman-Gannon | Team BikeExchange-Jayco | + 01:40 |
| 9 | Elisa Longo Borghini | Trek-Segafredo | + 01:40 |
| 10 | Demi Vollering | Team SD Worx | + 01:40 |
Also Read: Tour De France Femmes: FDJ-SUEZ Futuroscope Is Back In The Game
Featured Image Via YouTube/ Cycling Pro Net
