La Vuelta Femenina: Marianne Vos wins stage four to extend overall lead

Marianne Vos wins stage four of La Vuelta Femenina in 2023

Dutch legend Marianne Vos won stage four of La Vuelta Femenina to extend her lead in the Spanish seven-day race.

Vos comfortably beat Emma Norsgaard in a sprint finish in Guadalajara to win the 133km stage from Cuenca and secure the 248th win over her road career.

The 35-year-old now leads by 25 seconds from Chloe Dygert, with Vos’ Jumbo-Visma team-mate Riejanne Markus a further second back in third.

Britain’s Lizzie Deignan continued her return to racing with sixth place.

The 34-year-old, who only returned to action a few weeks ago after giving birth to her second child last September, helped her Trek-Segafredo team shut down a series of attacks late in the stage but still had the power to claim a top-10 finish.

American Dygert and Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten were among those to try late moves after a three-rider breakaway was reeled in with 35km to go, only for Vos to claim her second straight stage win.

Friday’s stage five is 129km from La Cabrera to Mirador de Penas Llanas in Riaza.

It includes the category one Puerto de Navafria climb and a summit finish, which is expected to shake up the general classification standings before the mountain stages over the weekend.