Starting in a similar fashion to the last two editions of La Vuelta Femenina, this year’s race began with an opening team time trial, with the riders rolling off the ramp to take on a 16km-long course around Valencia.
It was a tightly contested stage, with all of the top teams battling it out to give their leaders an early advantage in the general classification. However, it was Lidl-Trek that emerged victorious, as they averaged just under 50km/h to finish in a time of 19:20, with Gaia Realini leading the team across the line to take the first leader’s jersey of the race.
