Dutchwoman Yara Kastelijn won the 4th stage of the Tour de France Women alone on Wednesday in Rodez, where Belgian Lotte Kopecky kept her yellow jersey. The puncher from the Fenix-Deceuninck team was more than a minute ahead of her compatriot Demi Vollering, one of the two favorites of this edition, who took eight seconds ahead of her great rival, the world champion Annemiek van Vleuten, 4th. At 25, Kastelijn signed in Aveyron the first success of his career.
She was part of a group of 14 riders who broke away from the 20th kilometer of the longest stage of the event (177 km) from Cahors in the Lot. This breakaway counted up to ten minutes in advance 65 kilometers from the line, allowing the Frenchwoman Audrey Cordon-Ragot to occupy for a few tens of kilometers the head of the virtual general classification.
But the strongest riders set off in the very hilly final of the stage, under the impetus in particular of Kopecky, very motivated by the idea of defending and keeping her yellow jersey. And for the first time since the start in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday, the two main candidates for final success tested themselves on the coasts of Aveyron, attacking each other in turn.
Vollering performed the right operation by taking second place (and the six seconds of bonuses accompanying it), two seconds ahead of Van Vleuten, who failed at the foot of the podium in the wheel of another Dutchwoman: Anouska Koster (3rd) .
Thursday, the route will be more favorable to sprinters from Onet-le-Château in Aveyron to Albi in Tarn, for 126 kilometers and only three listed climbs, the last 24 km from the finish line . The Tour de France Women ends on Sunday with a 22 km time trial in Pau, the day after the queen stage with the arrival at the top of the Tourmalet.
