The sprint for the line(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sierra takes it(Image credit: Getty Images)
Scenic setting in Lausanne(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Tour de Romandie is an all-new Women's WorldTour race(Image credit: Getty Images)
The new world champion Annemiek van Vleuten in the rainbow jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
Katia Ragusa was the first attacker(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton in the rolling Swiss hills(Image credit: Getty Images)
An early break(Image credit: Getty Images)
Van Vleuten in the bunch(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sierra marking a move from Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio(Image credit: Getty Images)
The finale became aggressive(Image credit: Getty Images)
Attacks flew(Image credit: Getty Images)
But Sierra swept up at the end(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sierra in the leader's jersey with some cheese for her troubles(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sierra also leads the points classification(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elise Chabbey is the best Swiss rider(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ragusa was the most combative(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) proved the strongest in a reduced bunch sprint to take the win on stage 1 of the all-new Tour de Romandie Féminin in Lausanne.
The Cuban rider got the better of Liane Lippert (Team DSM), with Demi Vollering (SD Worx) taking the final spot on the podium.
The Cuban rider made good on the work of her teammate, newly crowned World Champion and GC favourite Annemiek van Vleuten, after the Dutch veteran worked to close several gaps during a day of aggressive racing in Switzerland.
Sierra will wear the leader’s jersey going into day two of the three-day stage race, as Van Vleuten looks to add the GC to her palmarès in the final Women’s World Tour race of 2022.
In the overall standings, bonus seconds gave Sierra a lead of four seconds over Lippert, six seconds over Vollering, and 10 seconds over the rest of 25-rider group that contested the finish.
Sierra has won five races so far this season, but this is her first WorldTour level win of the year.
How it unfolded
The 134.4km stage began and ended in Lausanne, in the Western region of Switzerland, and featured a number of third category climbs, leading to lively and attacking racing throughout.
Katia Ragusa of Liv Racing-Xstra was the first rider to escape the bunch and successfully stay away, and she was joined later by Elena Hartmann of the Swiss National Team. The two amassed a lead of around two minutes before they began to be reeled back in by the peloton.
With 50km remaining, attacks began to come, with SD Worx on the offensive, and the early break was caught as Demi Vollering and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio traded blows with Trek-Segafredo’s Ellen van Dijk at the front of the race.
Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) was next to attack, pulling clear of the bunch and opening up a small gap as the peloton made short work of the penultimate climb of the day. But Uttrup Ludwig was quickly brought back as the attacks continued to launch, and with one climb remaining there was a brief truce in the bunch.
Demi Vollering attacked with just over 30km to go, stringing out the bunch, and Elisa Longo Borghini followed suit, putting pressure on the rest. Team BikeExchange-Jayco had been looking ominous all day and Ane Santesteban was next to try her luck. The repeated attacks resulted in an ever-decreasing pack, as they crested the final third category climb of the day and head for the final.
Uttrup Ludwig attacked again and looked comfortable as she opened up a gap again on a reduced bunch. She showed great form ahead of a day of climbing on stage 2, where the GC favourites will make an impact. She was closed down and a counter attack came as a group of seven riders moved clear, including some of the favourites, but the front group came together once again on the long descent towards Lausanne.
Team DSM’s Floortje Mackaij put in an injection of pace as the parcours flattened out heading towards the shores of Lac Leman, where the final 15km would play out. Veronica Ewers (EFEducation-Tibco-SVB) and Anna Shackley (SD Worx) were both at the sharp end as the tension wound up ahead of what looked likely to be a reduced bunch sprint.
The selection of around 25 riders had been made heading along the bank of the stunning Lac Leman, with teams playing cat and mouse with 10km to go. Heading into the final 5km, Team DSM were prominent at the front of the group, but as the kilometres ticked down it became clear that despite the strength of the collective, the Movistar duo of van Vleuten and Sierra would not be moved.
With the strongest sprint in the leading bunch, Sierra was able to power clear and take the victory.
Katy is a freelance writer and journalist. She has published interviews, features, and previews in Cycling News, Rouleur, Cyclist Magazine and the British Continental. She also writes opinion pieces on her own website writebikerepeat.com and is a frequent contributor to the Quicklink podcast.
She is obsessed with the narrative element of bike racing, from the bigger picture to the individual stories. She is a cyclocross nut who is 5% Belgian and wonders if this entitles her to citizenship. Her favourite races are Ronde van Vlaanderen and La Vuelta.
In her spare time Katy is a published short fiction and non-fiction author.
