Report below from Sporza (Belgian Sport TV and website) Photos as indicated by watermark.
Translated from original report Sporza: For former world champion Elisa Balsamo, the first stage of the Tour of Burgos ended on a stretcher. The Italian leader of Lidl – Trek fell during the sprint preparation and broke her nose and concussion, among other things. Teammates Lucinda Brand and Ilaria Sanguineti saw the crash and did not hesitate to get off. Only when the doctors had taken care of Balsamo did the two Lidl-Trek riders jump back into the saddle. Much to Brand’s dissatisfaction, she was also charged for those 3 minutes at the finish line. “Today I followed my human instinct and not my racing instinct,” Brand writes on X. “I stopped to check on my teammate after a heavy fall a few meters from the finish. I didn’t think twice about it and I I don’t regret it either. But doing the right thing takes me 3 minutes, even with the finish line in sight.”
“If Balsamo had crossed the line, she would have gotten the same time as the peloton. So why is this being treated differently in the eyes of the UCI?” she wonders.
Wishing Elisa Balsamo a speedy recovery, and be proud of your team mates who got fined for caring, it is just not right!!
1st stage: 1st. Lotta Henttala (Fin) 123 km in 3u02’33”
2nd. Carina Schrempf (Austria) @s/t
3rd. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) @s/t
4th. Elise Chabbey (Zwi) @s/t
5th. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Australia) @s/t
72nd. Megan Armitage-EF Education-Cannondale @s/t
