But Faulkner – again proving herself an exceptionally sharp race strategist – stayed ahead of the fray. While multiple teams took their shot at leading the peloton and protecting their would-be stage winners, none could hold form, courtesy of aggressive and variable wind conditions that kept chopping things up. The EF Education First-Cannondale squad, however, stayed steady on their SuperSix EVOs.
Approaching the stage's conclusion in Zaragoza, about 20 riders were in the lead group, including the race leader and yesterday's stage winner. Multiple gaps had formed across the field. Faulkner decided to create one more. The final climb leveled out 6.5 kilometers from the finish, which is exactly when the Arctic Faulks made her move. The Alaskan put down the power just as she crested the hill, and no rival had an immediate response.
Out-Faulks'd
Photography by Getty Images
Two days after her heroic lead out for Alison Jackson’s stage win, Kristen Faulkner solos to victory on Stage 4.
In case you missed it, Kristen Faulkner is fast – fast enough to give powerhouse teammate Alison Jackson a decisive leadout against some of the fastest women on the planet for a Stage 2 win on Monday in La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es.
But now she’s claimed her own.
With 131 riders lining up at the start of Stage 4 in Molina de Aragón, the descent-heavy course would be fast, but battering crosswinds would make it just as tricky. Multiple Echelons broke out across the 142.3-kilometer course broke out through the day, parsing apart multiple contenders for multiple jerseys. It was another day of the race whose results would be virtually impossible to predict.
They would pick up the pace, but it would be too little, too late. Faulkner was untouchable off the front, crossing comfortably ahead of her chasers. Jackson would cross the line in seventh.
“I knew that climb was going to be a place where a lot of teams would try to attack,” said Faulker after the stage. “I actually decided to follow or counter instead of attacking myself because I knew that some team would try to go at that point. Then Demi [Vollering – Team SD Worx-Protime] and Elisa [Longo Borghini – LIDL-Trek] tried one, and I was right on their wheels. I looked back, we had a small gap, and I was like, ‘this is the counter that I have to go on!’”
“We came to try to win some stages, and we’ve already won two,” Faulkner summarized, “so it was a good day.”
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