Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 2021 - Marlen Reusser charges to Stage 1 victory

Updated 02/09/2021 at 14:17 GMT

Reusser came home in 3:07:46, securing 10 bonus seconds to open up a 26-second lead in the general classification. But it was a difficult day for two-time defending champion Lisa Brennauer, who finished 86th and is surely already out of overall contention. The Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, formerly the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, is in its seventh edition.

Reusser charges to Stage 1 victory at Ceratizit Challenge

Marlen Reusser (Ale BTC Ljubljana) took her professional victories into double digits with a fine solo victory on the opening stage of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta.

The Swiss rider finished 22 seconds clear of a three-strong chase group, which was led home by Coryn Rivera (Team DSM) ahead of Elise Chabbey (Canyon/SRAM Racing) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Liv Racing).

Elisa Balsamo (Valcar–Travel & Service) won the sprint behind ahead of Britain’s Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma) as the bunch came home 1:48 adrift.

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"This was the last thing I expect this morning, I never thought I would win any stage here," said Reusser.

"I thought I was so tired of the Simac Ladies Tour. I was in school for two days, then yesterday I spent the whole day travelling. I thought we had a rest day today and it [the race] starts tomorrow, I had it wrong in my head!

"So I just thought I could do whatever - go for an attack. I just pedalled a lot, kept away, felt the others didn’t have that much and I just tried to go. It worked out.

I tried my luck and it worked out. It’s incredible.

Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling) saw her hopes of a third straight title all but vanish at the first hurdle after finishing over 13 minutes off Reusser.

The race continues on Friday with a 7.3km individual time trial, the second of four stages in 2021’s expanded race.

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You can watch Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now.

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