Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) had come to Spain targeting a good GC result in La Vuelta Femenina, and with 2024 Tour de France Femmes winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney lining up in support of the 23-year-old Australian, things were looking good. But Bradbury's goal suffered a heavy blow when she crashed 16km from the finish of stage 2.
It had rained for much of the stage, and while the peloton was passing through a roundabout, a ripple effect led to a touch of wheels that brought down Esmee Gielkens (Lotto). Bradbury and her teammate Anastasiya Kolesava were right behind the Belgian and had no time to react. Mikayla Harvey (SD Worx-Protime) also went down while other riders could avoid hitting the tarmac.
