Ex-Dutch & European women’s champion Lorena Wiebens 3rd win of 2020
Lorena Wiebes has won the opening stage in the Madrid Challenge. The Dutch sprinted to victory ahead of the Italian Elisa Balsamo and the German Lisa Brennauer. In a turbulent opener of the Madrid Challenge, Lorena Wiebes crossed the line first in a stage in which the riders were sent the wrong way. The race got off to a quick start due to the fierce tailwind. The riders, therefore, waited until 28 km before the finish to make an attack. Mireia Benito Pellicer made a gap but drove in the wrong direction. The race was stopped for half an hour. Pellicer took off again with 40 seconds ahead of the peloton but had a puncture. In a sprint uphill, Wiebes got the victory forTeam Sunweb.
(The Madrid Challenge is a three-day competition that is part of the Vuelta. (Today the women will be presented with a 9 km time trial and the racing will end on Sunday with a 17-lap circuit race, totaling 98.6km, in Madrid) Feature photo courtesy of @gettysport
1 WIEBES Lorena Team Sunweb 82 km in 2:00:16
2 BALSAMO Elisa Valcar – Travel & Service s/t
3 BRENNAUER Lisa Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cyclin s/t
4 ERIĆ Jelena Movistar Team s/t
5 BARNES Alice Canyon SRAM Racing @ 0:03″
6 ZANARDI Silvia Bepink @ 0:04″
7 RYAN Alexis Canyon SRAM Racing s/t
8 ASENCIO Laura Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling s/t
9 GUAZZINI Vittoria Valcar – Travel & Service s/t
10 ROY Sarah Mitchelton-Scott s/t
