AGNIESZKA'S TOP TEN MIDWAY THROUGH LA VUELTA

Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka was in the thick of it for the first true bunch sprint of the 2026 La Vuelta Femenina, grinding all the way up the sloping finishing straight to claim a top-10 result.

In sunny, dry conditions at last, a delighted peloton rolled out for the 115km stage 4, with the Alto de Oural (3.3km at 6%) looming early on the route. Cresting within the opening 20km, it provided the launchpad for the day’s early breakaway.

There was no shortage of steady uphill drags on the final day in never-flat Galicia. Despite this, the gradients were never selective enough to encourage action, and the peloton remained largely passive, with team tactics kept tightly under wraps until the final 5km when racing finally burst into life. Up front, the two remaining breakaway riders saw their advantage evaporate, the gap of over one minute gone in the space of a few kilometres, and the catch made at 2.5km to go.

From 1km out, the road rose steadily to the line, with two sharp 90-degree bends inside the final 300m adding a technical element to the day’s conclusion. Agnieszka was well positioned inside the top 10 wheels with one corner to go, but had no extra gear when it was time to kick out of the turn and drive for the line, maintaining her position to finish 9th.

Here’s her take on the stage:

“After the breakaway went, the stage didn’t have much happening. It became faster towards the final, and it was just getting harder as we got to the sprint. I was good on Pauline’s wheel earlier on, but when we came to the final two corners, whatever position you were in, was where you stayed. I gave my best, but at that point my legs were done, and I couldn’t pass anyone in the last 100m.”

Stage four might suggest the end of the seven-day tour is coming into view, but a heavily back-loaded route means that the stage number doesn’t yet correlate to the real story on the road. The fatigue is building, while the general classification battle is still yet to truly ignite.

Tomorrow the race moves to Castilla y León for a 119km ‘flat’ stage featuring 1156m of elevation gain, likely presenting another opportunity for the fast finishers. However, a false-flat, downhill-sloping final 40km could also favour opportunists who seize their chance on the drags that come before it.