Leader Kopecky gives her partner Bredewold the stage of La Vuelta Femenina in Astorga

The Dutch cyclist Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx-Protime) won this Thursday the fifth stage of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es 2026, held between León and Astorga over 119.6 kilometers, after winning a final uphill sprint in which her teammate and overall leader, the Belgian Lotte Kopecky, slowed down just before crossing the finish line to give her the victory.

Kopecky, who continues to lead the general classification and also reinforced her lead in the points classification, came in second ahead of the Italian Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco), who achieved a great third position despite being involved in a fall during the stage and having to continue with a spare bike.

The leader of Team SD Worx-Protime launched the final sprint with authority in the streets of Astorga, but clearly raised her foot in the last few meters, looking both ways and aware of her team’s superiority, to allow Bredewold to raise his arms. The Dutchwoman, Kopecky’s last regular pitcher, did not let go and completed a powerful finish to achieve victory.

The stage was marked by a breakaway led by the Spanish Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), Sara Martín (Movistar Team) and the Dutch Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Premier Tech), who held out in the lead until the last 8.7 kilometers.

Before, Marina Garau and Alice Coutinho were also part of the adventure, in a nervous day but controlled by the peloton and especially by SD Worx-Protime, who once again showed collective muscle to prepare for the massive outcome.

The rain appeared in the final kilometers and made the approach to the finish line even more complicated. With 1.2 kilometers remaining there was a massive fall at the front of the peloton, although without consequences in terms of time as they were within the protection zone. Among those affected were runners like Anna van der Breggen, from SD-Worx and leader of the team for the general classification, or several teammates from Paternoster and the Cuban Movistar Team Arlenis Sierra.

After this fifth stage, Kopecky maintains the leader’s red jersey with a 12-second advantage over the German Franziska Koch and 18 over the French Cédrine Kerbaol, while Bredewold rises to fourth place, 22 seconds behind.

Looking ahead to this Friday, the sixth stage will leave Gijón and reach the top of Les Praeres, in Nava, after 106.5 kilometers, on a fairly flat day until the final climb, where the hornet’s nest will begin to stir, with a short ascent of just 3.9 kilometers but tough, with an average slope of 12.6 percent.