Demi Vollering retains leader's jersey in Valencia, Cat Ferguson spoils Lieke Nooijen's party
Cat Ferguson won the second stage of the Tour of Valencia. The British rider watched as her team brought a monster break with Lieke Nooijen to an end in the final kilometers, after which she easily sprinted to victory. Demi Vollering retained the leader’s jersey.
The second stage of the Tour of Valencia was especially tough in the first section. Within the first sixty kilometers, the riders tackled the Alt de Marianet, the Alt de Eslida, and the Alt de Ain, but given the flat profile of the rest of the stage, these climbs did not play a decisive role.
Lieke Nooijen launched a brave attack on Friday. The Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike started a solitary breakaway and quickly built a lead of almost a minute on the peloton.
Nooijen Gets Support
With sixty kilometers remaining, as the peloton neared the top of the Alt de Ain, Nooijen was joined by support. Talia Appleton and Sigrid Haugset decided to bridge on the second-category climb when the gap to Nooijen had narrowed to just twenty seconds.
The three leaders seemed strong contenders for the win in the final hour and a half of the stage and saw their advantage rise above one minute again, but in the last kilometers, they had to bow to the peloton, where Movistar eagerly chased down the trio up front.
In the final kilometer, it was Cat Ferguson who took the victory ahead of Letizia Paternoster. Demi Vollering had an easy day and kept the leader’s jersey in Spain.
