Having led her Lidl-Trek teammates throughout the TTT end line, Gaia Realini is the primary GC chief of the 2024 Vuelta Femenina. However it’s removed from sure that she will be able to hold the purple jersey on stage 2, 118.3km from Bunol to Moncofa.
Six, 4, and two bonus seconds can be found for the primary three riders on the intermediate dash in Alfara de la Baronia after 91 kilometres, and ten bonus seconds shall be awarded to the stage winner in Moncofa, with six seconds for the runner-up and 4 seconds for third place. In whole, a single rider may acquire as much as 16 seconds of time bonifications on stage 2.
Which means that a number of riders have an opportunity to take the purple jersey from Realini and Lidl-Trek. Essentially the most harmful menace comes from Marianne Vos. Together with 4 of her Visma-Lease a Bike teammates, the 36-year-old celebrity is barely 0.09 seconds behind. Vos had three days within the purple jersey in final 12 months’s version, inheriting the lead from her teammate Anna Henderson on stage 2 and profitable two phases within the chief’s jersey.
Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) is one second behind and will additionally threaten Realini. On paper, her possibilities should not fairly pretty much as good as Vos’, however Vas has a superb flip of pace and a really sturdy group to assist her within the quest for bonus seconds on the primary phases.
Maike van der Duin (Canyon-SRAM) and Alison Jackson (EF Schooling-Cannondale) face a more durable activity as they’re eight and 9 seconds down, respectively, however not like Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Crew) who’s 12 seconds behind, they might make up their complete deficit by profitable the stage.
Even when no one from one other group leapfrogs Realini, the chief’s jersey should change palms throughout the Lidl-Trek group: Lizzie Deignan, Brodie Chapman, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Amanda Spratt are all on the identical time as Realini, and whoever of those 5 finishes greatest on stage 2 would transfer to the highest of the intra-team rating and presumably take the general lead.
16 GC contenders inside 17 seconds
Realini and Longo Borghini additionally lead the rating of GC favourites, having taken little however maybe vital time on their rivals. Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike) is closest at 0.09 seconds, adopted by SD Worx-Protime’s Demi Vollering and Niamh Fisher-Black at one second.
Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma, Ricarda Bauernfeind, and Antonia Niedermaier sit at eight seconds whereas Kim Cadzow, Kristen Faulkner (each EF Schooling-Cannondale) and Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) are 9 seconds behind.
Mavi GarcÃa (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) follows at ten seconds, with Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ), Liane Lippert, and Olivia Baril (each Movistar Crew) one other two seconds down. Juliette Labous (Crew DSM-Firmenich PostNL) is 17 seconds behind.
There’s then a much bigger hole to Sarah Gigante and Justine Ghekiere (each AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) at 32 seconds, adopted by Tamara Dronova (Roland) at 42 seconds and Fenix-Deceuninck’s Pauliena Rooijakkers and Yara Kastelijn at 48 seconds.
UAE Crew ADQ’s Mikayla Harvey and Erica Magnaldi are respectively 56 seconds and one minute behind, and Sabrina Stultiens (VolkerWessels) is one other second behind Magnaldi. Human Powered Well being’s Henrietta Christie is 1:13 minutes down on Realini, Clara Koppenburg (EF Schooling-Cannondale) is one other second behind and will forgo her personal GC ambitions in favour of supporting the better-placed Cadzow and Faulkner.
