After the hectic first stage the peloton took it a little easier in the second stage of the Simac Ladies Tour. Rachele Barbieri took her 15th top-5 spot of the season in the bunch sprint.
The second stage went over 117,8 kilometres with start and finish in Ede. On forehand a bunch sprint was expected, so Liv Racing Xstra aimed to bring Rachele Barbieri to the line. That had to be done without Amber van der Hulst, who didn`t take the start after her hard crash yesterday. The stage was animated by three riders. The last escapee was caught with 15 kilometres to go, so the peloton could start the preparation for the bunch sprint.
Liv Racing Xstra worked hard to bring Barbieri in a good position for the sprint. “I think we did a good job getting Rachele in a good position for the sprint. Of course you miss Amber, who is always important in the final kilometres with a sprint. Rachele also crashed yesterday and wasn`t in her top shape today. Normally we could go for the stage podium, but now due to the circumstances we have to be satisfied with the fifth place”, sports director Wim Stroetinga told after the stage.
Lorena Wiebes took another stage win and strengthened her lead in the overall classification that way. Alison Jackson is in fifth place, 17 seconds behind Wiebes. Jeanne Korevaar is the second Liv Racing Xstra rider in the top-10 in a 10th place.