World time trial champion escapes breakaway companions to finish alone; Emma Johansson holds overall lead
Emma Pooley (Garmin-Cervélo) won the fourth stage of the Thüringen-Rundfahrt, the Rund um Zeulenroda, in a solo breakaway. The British rider marked her return to the race where she first announced herself to the rest of the elite peloton back in 2007 with another trademark breakaway win. She escaped the rest of a breakaway group inside the final 25km to win 1’05” ahead of Judith Arndt (HTC-Highroad).
Race leader Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-UCK) led the rest of the break over the line 1’18” behind Pooley at the end of the 98.7km stage.
Several attacks in the first half of the stage, but none was successful. On the first climb of the “Hankaberg” (named after local rider Kupfernagel, who was guesting for Horizon Fitness in the race), after 58km though, a group of nineteen riders got clear, containing most of the riders in the top of the classification.
In the group were: race leader Johansson, Svetlana Boubnenkova and Natalia Boyarskaya (both Russian National Team), Judith Arndt and Amber Neben (both HTC-Highroad), Loes Gunnewijk (Nederland Bloeit), Fabianna Luperini and Tatiana Guderzo (both MCipollini-Giambenini), Noemi Cantele, Sharon Laws and Pooley (all Garmin-Cervélo), Trixi Worrack and Linda Villumsen (both AA Drink-Leontien.nl) Sylwia Kapusta (Gauss), Claudia Häusler (Germany), Amy Pieters (Skil-Koga), and Shara Gillow and Vicki Whitelaw (Australian National Team).
They crossed the finish line to start the shorter, 33km loop two minutes clear of the rest of the peloton, then, with 25km to go, Boarskaya, Pooley, Gunnewijk, Worrack, Häusler and Guderzo escaped.
With 22km to go they led by 40 seconds and, with 15km to go Pooley got away on her own, and she opened up a lead as the other five breakaways were pulled back by their chasers.
As the World time trial champion soloed to the finish, Arndt escaped the rest of the group. Pooley took the victory alone though, with the German crossing the line 1’05” behind her. Johansson won the sprint for third, increasing her lead over Neben by 4 seconds with the time bonus on the line.
Bonus seconds from the intermediate sprint moved Cantele and Häusler into third and fourth places respectively at the expense of Pieters, but otherwise the top of the overall classification was unchanged.
Result stage 4
1. Emma Pooley (GBr) Garmin-Cervélo
2. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Highroad @ 1’05
3. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK @ 1’18”
4. Claudia Häusler (Ger) German National Team
5. Sylwia Kapusta (Pol) Gauss
6. Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
7. Natalia Boyarskaya (Rus) Russian National Team
8. Amy Pieters (Ned) Skil-Koga
9. Noemi Cantele (Ita) Garmin-Cervélo
10. Linda Villumsen (NZl) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
Standings after stage 4
1. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK
2. Amber Neben (USA) HTC-Highroad @ 11s
3. Noemi Cantele (Ita) Garmin-Cervélo @ 16s
4. Claudia Häusler (Ger) German National Team
5. Amy Pieters (Ned) Skil-Koga @ 17s