Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) is making a strong bid to establish herself as the main rival for Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime). After finishing runner-up in the Vuelta Femenina and beating the Dutchwoman on a summit finish, Muzic took second on stage 2 of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, this time behind Vollering on the hilltop finish at the Alto de Rosales.
Muzic was not at the front of the peloton going into the 3.8-kilometre climb but was brought into position by Jade Wiel and then Léa Curinier set the pace. She was just not able to follow Vollering’s stage-winning attack.
“We were indeed positioned a little bit far in the bunch because of some crashes. We never panicked and got to the front before the final climb," Muzic explained to Cyclingnews.
"The team then did a great job to leave me in the best position possible. That's what matters the most. This is a key element on which I improved a lot recently.”
Her teammate Loes Adegeest, working as co-commentator for the race on Dutch TV, agreed that while positioning wasn’t Muzic’s strongest skill, she had gotten better at it compared to before.
Muzic was next to Vollering when the latter attacked on the final kilometre but could not quite match the Dutch champion’s punchy acceleration. On the last bit of the climb, however, Muzic made up a bit of ground on Vollering again, finishing four seconds down.
The 24-year-old is now second in the general classification. In the 2022 edition, she was overall runner-up behind Juliette Labous (Team DSM), finishing ahead of third-placed Vollering on stage placing countback.
In this edition, Muzic has an eight-second deficit to overcome if she wants to become the second French overall winner.
After a flat stage on Saturday, the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas finishes on Sunday, a week before Muzic’s 25th birthday. The final stage includes the Alto de Rozavientos. A steep 3.5km climb, with an average gradient of 9.3% cresting 15.8km from the finish, offers a great springboard for a GC-winning attack – but Muzic understandably wouldn’t show her hand ahead of time.
“We will see what the race brings us for the next two stages,” she was tight-lipped about the team’s plans for the rest of the race.
