Longo Borghini and Trek-Segafredo set the tone in Cantabria

September 7 ^th 2022 - 21:15 [GMT + 2]

Among the main powerhouses of the peloton, Trek-Segafredo displayed their strength to win stage 1 of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 22, a 19.9km team time trial set in Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria. The Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini led her team through the line to be the first leader of the race, with a time of 23:31, six seconds faster than Team BikeExchange-Jayco.

On Thursday, the peloton will face a mountain stage with five categorised ascents on demanding roads around the city of Colindres (105.9km). “We knew that we were really strong and we tried our best to start fast and finish even faster”, the Italian rider explained. Moments ahead of putting the red jersey of the overall leader on her shoulders, Longo Borghini said she was feeling in a good shape to face the mountain challenges of the Challenge, although she wouldn’t underestimate her rivals. While BikeExchange-Jayco finished 2nd (+6’’), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig’s FDJ Suez Futuroscope also came close (3rd, +11’’). Fourth across the line, SD Worx positioned their leader for the mountains Demi Vollering (+23’’) while Movistar, with the defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten (also a winner of the Giro and the Tour this year) dropped 25’’.

Elinor Backstedt (Trek Segafredo) will wear the green jersey of the points standings while her teammate Shirin van Anrooij will shine with the QOM’s polka-dot. Mercedes Carmona, from the team Rio Miera - Cantabria, takes the combative white jersey. On Thursday, the peloton will take on five categorised ascents through a 105.9km stage around Colindres.