Ex-Dutch & European women’s champion Lorena Wiebens 3rd win of 2020
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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
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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