The 2024 edition of La Vuelta Femenina got underway in Valencia with a 16km team time trial at the Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias. Lidl-Trek, the third-to-last team to start had the dual objective of winning the stage whilst protecting Gaia Realini for general classification.
Thanks to a well-disciplined and measured effort, Lidl-Trek were the fastest team at the intermediate time check, eight seconds quicker than any other team. Former World Time Trial Champion Ellen van Dijk put her immense power to good use, pulling the team along as the kilometers ticked by. Both of the team’s goals were looking good, with Gaia having ridden strongly despite being unsuited to the discipline. Heading into the final kilometer, it looked like was looking like the American Team had a healthy lead, however disaster struck on the final corner as Ellen van Dijk and Elynor Backstedt both crashed hard, and the remaining five members of the team had to accelerate back to speed and regroup.
Having lost a lot of time due to the crash, it was touch and go whether or not Lidl-Trek would be able to hold onto their lead. Gaia was the first to reach the line, but the time ticked on until the fourth team member crossed it. At first, no one was sure of the result, but after confirmation, Lidl-Trek could celebrate their hard-fought victory. The winning margin – two hundredths of a second!
Speaking at the finish, Gaia Realini said: “It’s an amazing result both for me and for the team. I’m happy about it, but not completely happy because two of my teammates crashed on the last corner. I welcome this result, and now I look forward to the next stage. We are definitely ready to defend La Roja over the next few stages and we will try to keep it all the way to Madrid. A course like today’s is not the best for me because it was really flat, but the team had a perfect strategy that enabled us to win this stage.”
STAGE 1 RESULT
- Lidl-Trek 19’20’’
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike +00’’
- Team SD Worx-Protime +01
INDIVIDUAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
- Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) in 00h19’20’’
- Ellen Van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) at 00’’
- Brodie Chapman (Team SD Worx-Protime) at 00’’
