A fast afternoon of action saw the Women’s peloton faced with a rolling stage that included a few short climbs, but with a flatter finale it was expected to come back down to a bunch sprint into Melgar de Fernamental. Riding well as a group throughout the day, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL supported fast finisher Jastrab and kept each other safe in the early parts of the stage. Coming into the final five kilometres the break was caught and the pace ramped up, with an intense fight for position in the bunch. The team did well to bring Jastrab forward, in particular Maeve Plouffe who kept a high pace and Jastrab towards the front in the closing three kilometres where there was a crash in the bunch which unfortunately saw Esmée Peperkamp, Josie Nelson and Eglantine Rayer all go down, with the latter not able to continue the race. Jastrab then followed the wheels in the closing kilometre and kicked as hard as she could to the line, ultimately taking a solid sixth place on the stage.
Speaking after the stage Jastrab said: “It was fast stage with the wind direction and all the action early on to be in the breakaway. We rode well as team and stayed together and were positioned well going into the climbs in the second half the race. In the final we were patient to move up, but it was a bit hectic to find each other at points. Maeve did a great job of positioning me near the front and dropped me off in the wheels with about 600 metres to go and then I was able to find my way through the last two turns. I would have liked more and feel like I should have been able to go for a top three, but my sprint is not where it needs be since coming back from injury. It is disappointing to miss out on a nice opportunity today, but still pleased with how the rest of the form was throughout the stage. Sadly, there was also a crash near the end that took down Esmée, Josie, and Eglantine, so it was a hard ending after some nice teamwork throughout the day.”