Lotte Kopecky wins final stage as Annemiek van Vleuten secures overall at Challenge by La Vuelta

Olympic time trial champion won two stages to claim the four-day race in northwest Spain.

Published September 5, 2021 05:28AM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (VN) — Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) out-kicked Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) to win the final stage at the Ceratizit Challenge by the Vuelta on Sunday.

The pair finished 1-2 in the 107km fourth and final stage from As Ponte to Santiago de Compostela.

“Finishes like that really suit me,” Kopecky said at the line. “Today was perfect timing to close a gap, and I’m really happy I could finish it off.”

Happy to finish off the great team work at today's final stage of @ChallengeVuelta. #CERATIZITChallenge21 pic.twitter.com/ji6D1owhtP
— Lotte Kopecky (@LotteKopecky) September 5, 2021

Leah Thomas (Movistar) uncorked a daring late-stage, and was only caught in the closing 300m by the chasing bunch.

Overnight leader Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) finished in the main bunch to secure the overall title.

“It was a nice stage, not so crazy as it might have appeared, just that a lot of teams wanted to win the stage,” van Vleuten said. “It was a late decision to race here, and it was the last race with mountains on the calendar. It’s nice to come to Spain, race with this team at ‘home’ and we are leaving happy.”

Annemiek van Vleuten Elisa Longo Borghini La Vuelta Femenina Leah Thomas Lotte Kopecky

Add Velo as a preferred source on GoogleAdd