A crash in the final corner didn’t stop Lid-Trek from winning the team time trial at La Vuelta Femenina on Sunday. Visma-Lease a Bike took second, just two hundredths of a second behind, while SD Worx-Protime was third, 1″ behind Lidl-Trek.
It almost didn’t happen for Lidl-Trek when time trial specialist Ellen van Dijk slipped out in the final corner and took teammate Elynor Bäckstedt down with her. But both were able to remount and the remainder of the team quickly regrouped and finished with teammate Gaia Realini crossing the line first to take the leader’s jersey.
“I’m really happy about the result for me and the team, but I’m not happy because in the last corner two of my teammates crashed,” Realini said, afterwards. But we will focus for the next stage. We will take this jersey and defend for the next stage.”
As of last night, it appears that Van Dijk, who suffered the most in the crash, will be able to start tomorrow with her Lidl-Trek team. “Thank you to everyone for all the messages. Fortunately nothing is broken, “just” required some stitches to my chin. Hoping to recover as much as possible so I can keep giving 100% for the girls this week.”
While Lidl-Trek’s victory showcased the strength of the team, the time gaps overall were very small and their significance will diminish as the race progresses. The difference between the top five teams was only a handful of seconds – 9 seconds – while the difference between Lidl-Trek and last place, the Continental Bepink-Bongioanni team, was 1:57.
With windy conditions predicted for this week, the stages may not be as straightforward as predicted. Today’s stage 2 is a lumpy stage with some hills, but will most likely end in a sprint.
Results
La Vuelta Femenina, Stage 1
1. Lidl-Trek, in 19:20
2. Visma-Lease a Bike, same time
3. SD Worx-Protime, +1s
4. Canyon-SRAM, +8s
5. EF Education-Cannondale, +9s
6. FDJ-SUEZ, same time
7. Liv AlUla Jayco, +10s
8. Movistar, +12s
9. dsm-firmenich PostNL, +17s
10. AG Insurance-Soudal, +32s
General Classification
1. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 19:20
2. Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Lidl-Trek
3. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Lidl-Trek
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
5. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek
6. Elynor Bäckstedt (GBr) Lidl-Trek
7. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Lidl-Trek
8. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
9. Anna Henderson (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike (meme temps)
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/ceratzit-challenge-by-la-vuelta/2024/stage-1
