Cat Ferguson sprints to victory in Trofeo Llucmajor, Sofie van Rooijen third

Cat Ferguson (Movistar) claimed victory at the Trofeo Llucmajor (formerly Trofeo Palma Femina). The British rider outsprinted Clara Copponi (Lidl-Trek) from a reduced group. Dutch rider Sofie van Rooijen (UAE Team ADQ) took an impressive third place.

The third edition of the Trofeo Llucmajor covered four local circuits of 33.5 kilometers each. The total race distance was 134 kilometers. The key difficulty was the Randa climb (1.9 kilometers at 4.4%). On the surface, this course favored strong sprinters and classic riders.

The first two hours of the race rolled along quietly, but at 50 kilometers echelons suddenly caused a split in the peloton. Among those in the front group of fifteen were Karlijn Swinkels, Silvia Persico, Van Rooijen (UAE Team ADQ), Ferguson (Movistar), Linda Zanetti (Uno-X), Copponi, and Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek).

Winner up front
The leaders quickly built a half-minute gap. On the final ascent of the Randa, just over 30 kilometers from the finish, the peloton ramped up the pace significantly, reducing the gap at the top to just ten seconds. However, the peloton then eased off again, allowing the breakaway, helped by the efforts of Cat Ferguson’s teammates upfront, to extend their lead back to 35 seconds.

The breakaway continued to increase their advantage, making it clear the winner was among them. UAE Team ADQ controlled the front, confident in their sprint capabilities. In the final few hundred meters, it was Ferguson who launched her sprint early and took the victory. Copponi finished second, while Van Rooijen had to settle for third. Karlijn Swinkels came in fifth.