Simac Ladies Tour stage 5: Audrey Cordon-Ragot blasts to time trial victory

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This article originally appeared on Velo News

Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek Segafredo) won the stage 5 time trial of the Simac Ladies Tour, setting a time of 25:15 over the 17.8km course in the Netherlands.

The French national time trial champion beat stage 4 winner Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma) by three seconds on the line in Watersley, whilst Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) finished third in 25:25.

Race leader Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) finished fifth on the stage with a time of 25:36, enough to hold onto the leader's jersey with one stage remaining, though Cordon-Ragot moves into second, just six seconds off the lead.

"I cannot be more happy than I am at the moment," Cordon-Ragot said at the finish.

"I was not expecting that. I knew Riejanne would be my biggest opponent. All the girls from Jumbo are really good on time trials and really technical also, so I was like 'OK just do your best, do what you know how to do and we will see the result'. And it ended up being the fastest time.

"I just had a plan, I followed the plan. I had what I had to do in every part of the circuit. It was really technical and I really love it. In the end I just stayed in my bubble and did what I had to do and it was the right plan today."

"I really like when it's technical, I really like to ride my TT bike," she continued. "I think it's also a really good exercise before the worlds because we know the world championships is going to be also really technical, so for me coming here in Simac was a really good preparation for the worlds. I'm really happy to be there and to end this tour the best way, winning a stage."


After three sprint days and a hilly challenge on Friday, stage 5 of the Simac Ladies Tour offered a rare chance for the time trialists to show their ability, one of just two individual time trials in the Women's WorldTour calendar this season. Though set in the relatively flat roads south of Sittard, the 17.8km was not pan-flat and did have some gradual but possibly significant rises between Windraak and the Watersley sports park.

Despite being the only longer time trial on the WorldTour calendar - the other being a 4.75km TT in the Giro - the start list for Saturday's stage was missing some of the specialists, with Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) deciding last minute to skip the race ahead of her world championships. The likes of Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) and Joscelin Lowden (Uno-X) were also missing.

It was first-off-the-mark Eva Buurman (Liv Racing Xstra) who set the first real benchmark, stopping the clock at 26:59, some 30 seconds faster than most of the first ten starters. However, it wasn't long before Lisa Klein (Canyon-SRAM), one of the few time trial specialists in the race, took the start and put an end to Buurman's time in the lead. At the intermediate timing point, Klein was seven seconds down on Buurman, but had a strong second half to beat the previous fastest time, finishing in 26:21.

Klein's time may have been expected to stand for a while, but in fact it was bettered just a few riders later by one of the youngest riders in the race, Elise Uijen (Team DSM). The former junior European time trial champion set a time of 26:11, taking 10 seconds out of Klein's time, certainly an impressive time in the 19-year-old's first pro-level ITT. After her effort, Uijen crashed shortly after the finish but was back on her feet quickly.

The first rider to break the 26-minute mark was Alice Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), who finished in 25:57 to take over the hotseat from Uijen, leading the standings after 28 finishers. Heading into the top-20 riders on GC, the best times started to fall significantly, with Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) taking over 30 seconds out of Barnes with a 25:25 finish. Julie De Wilde (Plantur Pura) then finished just three seconds down on Spratt as the early times all began to be beaten.

Stage 4 winner Riejanne Markus (Jumbo Visma) set a best time with 25:18, but needed a bigger margin to try to move up the GC after losing time on the race's opening stage.

Most of the top-10 could not better Markus's time, but a big effort from French national champion and third overall Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek Segafredo) eventually bettered the Dutch rider, setting a time of 25:15 which would prove to be the fastest of the day. With only race leader Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) still to finish, her challenge was to retain her lead, which she did with a time of 25:36, fifth on the stage and holding onto to a six-second advantage over Cordon-Ragot, who moved up to second.

Karlijn Swinkels (Jumbo Visma) finished 7th with a time of 25:52, moving one place down to third overall. The biggest movers after the TT were Markus, Spratt, De Wilde and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco), who all moved into the top-10 overall after strong against-the-clock efforts.

Sunday’s final stage around Arnhem will see the peloton take on seven laps of a countryside Posbank circuit, followed by five laps of a smaller circuit in Arnhem for a total of 150km of racing, the longest of the race.

Both circuits have small, one kilometer climbs on them, which whilst not particularly steep, could prove challenging when tackled repeatedly throughout the day. After winning two stages and looking strong on Friday's hilly fourth stage, the race looks like Wiebes's to lose, but the tricky circuits will give her competitors plenty of chances to test the Dutch rider before Sunday's finale.

Simac Ladies Tour Stage 5 Results

1

CORDON-RAGOT Audrey

Trek - Segafredo

25:15

2

MARKUS Riejanne

Team Jumbo-Visma

0:04

3

SPRATT Amanda

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

0:11

4

DE WILDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

0:13

5

WIEBES Lorena

Team DSM

0:21

6

ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

0:36

7

SWINKELS Karlijn

Team Jumbo-Visma

0:38

8

BARNES Alice

Canyon//SRAM Racing

0:42

9

HANSON Lauretta

Trek - Segafredo

0:45

10

HENDERSON Anna

Team Jumbo-Visma

0:53

11

JACKSON Alison

Liv Racing Xstra

0:56

12

UIJEN Elise

Team DSM

0:56

13

GHEKIERE Justine

Plantur-Pura

0:57

14

BREDEWOLD Mischa

Parkhotel Valkenburg

0:59

15

SCHWEINBERGER Christina

Plantur-Pura

1:01

16

CAMPBELL Teniel

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

1:02

17

KOREVAAR Jeanne

Liv Racing Xstra

1:04

18

VAN DE VELDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

1:06

19

KLEIN Lisa

Canyon//SRAM Racing

1:07

20

DRONOVA-BALABOLINA Tamara

Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad

1:07

21

KASPER Romy

Team Jumbo-Visma

1:13

22

PLUIMERS Ilse

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

1:16

23

PALADIN Soraya

Canyon//SRAM Racing

1:17

24

GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla

Valcar - Travel & Service

1:21

25

BAKER Georgia

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

1:28

26

BACKSTEDT Elynor

Trek - Segafredo

1:29

27

KIRCHMANN Leah

Team DSM

1:30

28

HENGEVELD Daniek

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

1:34

29

HARRIS Ella

Canyon//SRAM Racing

1:36

30

BUURMAN Eva

Liv Racing Xstra

1:45

31

RIJNBEEK Maud

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

1:47

32

SMULDERS Silke

Liv Racing Xstra

1:49

33

GROSSETETE Maelle

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

1:50

34

KOCH Franziska

Team DSM

1:53

35

VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK Chantal

Team SD Worx

1:54

36

SCHOENS Quinty

Parkhotel Valkenburg

1:59

37

DIJKSTRA Anneke

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

2:00

38

SANGUINETI Ilaria

Valcar - Travel & Service

2:03

39

BUJAK Eugenia

UAE Team ADQ

2:04

40

CIPRESSI Carlotta

Valcar - Travel & Service

2:07

41

PIRRONE Elena

Valcar - Travel & Service

2:09

42

TOMASI Laura

UAE Team ADQ

2:10

43

DUVAL Eugenie

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

2:11

44

ZANETTI Linda

UAE Team ADQ

2:12

45

HOSKING Chloe

Trek - Segafredo

2:12

46

AHTOSALO Anniina

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

2:18

47

KOOL Charlotte

Team DSM

2:18

48

KESSLER Nina

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

2:21

49

WRIGHT Sophie

UAE Team ADQ

2:22

50

CANT Sanne

Plantur-Pura

2:23

51

RUEGG Noemi

Team Jumbo-Visma

2:33

52

LUNDMARK Clara

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

3:01

53

VAN ROOIJEN Eline

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

3:04

54

CONSONNI Chiara

Valcar - Travel & Service

3:05

55

VAN HAAFTEN Kirstie

Parkhotel Valkenburg

3:06

56

DE VRIES Femke

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

3:21

57

PATUELLI Alessia

UAE Team ADQ

3:36

58

BAKS Marissa

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

3:55

59

FOURNIER Roxane

Team SD Worx

4:17

60

LUTRO Amalie

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

4:20

61

UNEKEN Lonneke

Team SD Worx

4:20

1

WIEBES Lorena

Team DSM

13:33:17

2

CORDON-RAGOT Audrey

Trek - Segafredo

0:06

3

SWINKELS Karlijn

Team Jumbo-Visma

0:36

4

MARKUS Riejanne

Team Jumbo-Visma

0:40

5

ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

0:48

6

HENDERSON Anna

Team Jumbo-Visma

1:01

7

JACKSON Alison

Liv Racing Xstra

1:03

8

BREDEWOLD Mischa

Parkhotel Valkenburg

1:10

9

SPRATT Amanda

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

1:11

10

DE WILDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

1:14

11

KASPER Romy

Team Jumbo-Visma

1:25

12

PALADIN Soraya

Canyon//SRAM Racing

1:28

13

GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla

Valcar - Travel & Service

1:33

14

GHEKIERE Justine

Plantur-Pura

1:57

15

DRONOVA-BALABOLINA Tamara

Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad

2:04

16

VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK Chantal

Team SD Worx

2:06

17

DUVAL Eugenie

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

2:23

18

SMULDERS Silke

Liv Racing Xstra

2:31

19

PLUIMERS Ilse

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

2:47

20

SANGUINETI Ilaria

Valcar - Travel & Service

3:04

21

TOMASI Laura

UAE Team ADQ

3:04

22

BUJAK Eugenia

UAE Team ADQ

3:05

23

HARRIS Ella

Canyon//SRAM Racing

3:07

24

WRIGHT Sophie

UAE Team ADQ

3:22

25

SCHOENS Quinty

Parkhotel Valkenburg

3:29

26

HANSON Lauretta

Trek - Segafredo

4:54

27

KOREVAAR Jeanne

Liv Racing Xstra

5:13

28

GROSSETETE Maelle

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

5:41

29

KESSLER Nina

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

6:12

30

BACKSTEDT Elynor

Trek - Segafredo

6:52

31

CANT Sanne

Plantur-Pura

6:52

32

BARNES Alice

Canyon//SRAM Racing

6:54

33

CAMPBELL Teniel

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

7:13

34

KIRCHMANN Leah

Team DSM

7:42

35

DIJKSTRA Anneke

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

8:25

36

LUTRO Amalie

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

8:37

37

LUNDMARK Clara

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

9:12

38

PATUELLI Alessia

UAE Team ADQ

9:48

39

SCHWEINBERGER Christina

Plantur-Pura

10:10

40

VAN DE VELDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

11:12

41

UIJEN Elise

Team DSM

13:08

42

VAN ROOIJEN Eline

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

13:33

43

CIPRESSI Carlotta

Valcar - Travel & Service

13:49

44

BAKER Georgia

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

14:07

45

KLEIN Lisa

Canyon//SRAM Racing

14:15

46

HENGEVELD Daniek

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

14:41

47

RIJNBEEK Maud

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

14:56

48

DE VRIES Femke

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

15:04

49

HOSKING Chloe

Trek - Segafredo

15:21

50

AHTOSALO Anniina

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

15:27

51

KOCH Franziska

Team DSM

15:33

52

KOOL Charlotte

Team DSM

15:56

53

UNEKEN Lonneke

Team SD Worx

16:36

54

PIRRONE Elena

Valcar - Travel & Service

16:46

55

VAN HAAFTEN Kirstie

Parkhotel Valkenburg

17:08

56

FOURNIER Roxane

Team SD Worx

17:26

57

RUEGG Noemi

Team Jumbo-Visma

17:38

58

CONSONNI Chiara

Valcar - Travel & Service

17:42

59

BAKS Marissa

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

18:12

60

ZANETTI Linda

UAE Team ADQ

23:11

61

BUURMAN Eva

Liv Racing Xstra

37:53

1

WIEBES Lorena

Team DSM

102

2

SWINKELS Karlijn

Team Jumbo-Visma

62

3

MARKUS Riejanne

Team Jumbo-Visma

45

4

CORDON-RAGOT Audrey

Trek - Segafredo

43

5

TOMASI Laura

UAE Team ADQ

39

6

JACKSON Alison

Liv Racing Xstra

33

7

DRONOVA-BALABOLINA Tamara

Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad

28

8

PALADIN Soraya

Canyon//SRAM Racing

27

9

ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

25

10

HENDERSON Anna

Team Jumbo-Visma

23

11

UNEKEN Lonneke

Team SD Worx

25

11

DE WILDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

19

12

DE ZOETE Mylene

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

24

12

GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla

Valcar - Travel & Service

17

13

SPRATT Amanda

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

16

14

BARBIERI Rachele

Liv Racing Xstra

21

14

DUVAL Eugenie

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

16

15

SANGUINETI Ilaria

Valcar - Travel & Service

12

16

BREDEWOLD Mischa

Parkhotel Valkenburg

8

17

BARNES Alice

Canyon//SRAM Racing

8

18

HANSON Lauretta

Trek - Segafredo

7

19

BAKER Georgia

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

16

19

KOREVAAR Jeanne

Liv Racing Xstra

6

20

COPPONI Clara

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

14

20

UIJEN Elise

Team DSM

4

21

GHEKIERE Justine

Plantur-Pura

3

22

DIDERIKSEN Amalie

Trek - Segafredo

9

22

KASPER Romy

Team Jumbo-Visma

2

23

VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK Chantal

Team SD Worx

1

24

SCHWEINBERGER Christina

Plantur-Pura

1

26

HENGEVELD Daniek

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

7

28

RIJNBEEK Maud

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

6

29

SEITZ Aline

Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad

5

31

HOSKING Chloe

Trek - Segafredo

3

32

CONSONNI Chiara

Valcar - Travel & Service

3

37

KOCH Franziska

Team DSM

1

38

AHTOSALO Anniina

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

1

1

VAN HAAFTEN Kirstie

Parkhotel Valkenburg

16

2

WIEBES Lorena

Team DSM

12

3

GROSSETETE Maelle

FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope

12

4

HENDERSON Anna

Team Jumbo-Visma

7

5

SWINKELS Karlijn

Team Jumbo-Visma

6

6

VAN DE VELDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

5

7

CORDON-RAGOT Audrey

Trek - Segafredo

3

8

PLUIMERS Ilse

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

1

1

BREDEWOLD Mischa

Parkhotel Valkenburg

13:34:27

2

DE WILDE Julie

Plantur-Pura

0:04

3

GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla

Valcar - Travel & Service

0:23

4

SMULDERS Silke

Liv Racing Xstra

1:21

5

PLUIMERS Ilse

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

1:37

6

BACKSTEDT Elynor

Trek - Segafredo

5:42

7

LUTRO Amalie

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

7:27

8

PATUELLI Alessia

UAE Team ADQ

8:38

9

UIJEN Elise

Team DSM

11:58

10

VAN ROOIJEN Eline

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

12:23

11

CIPRESSI Carlotta

Valcar - Travel & Service

12:39

12

HENGEVELD Daniek

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

13:31

13

RIJNBEEK Maud

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

13:46

14

AHTOSALO Anniina

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

14:17

15

KOCH Franziska

Team DSM

14:23

16

UNEKEN Lonneke

Team SD Worx

15:26

17

RUEGG Noemi

Team Jumbo-Visma

16:28

18

ZANETTI Linda

UAE Team ADQ

22:01

1

Team Jumbo-Visma

40:41:45

2

Plantur-Pura

3:40

3

Team BikeExchange - Jayco

4:58

4

Liv Racing Xstra

6:52

5

UAE Team ADQ

7:33

6

Valcar - Travel & Service

8:41

7

Canyon//SRAM Racing

9:05

8

Trek - Segafredo

10:04

9

Team DSM

11:51

10

Parkhotel Valkenburg

12:02

11

GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling

20:55

12

AG Insurance - NXTG Team

25:04

13

Team SD Worx

34:18

Results provided by ProCyclingStats.

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