Mischa Bredewold continued her strong record in the Basque Country with a powerful sprint win on stage 1 of the 2025 Itzulia Women, overcoming a hard day in the hills to claim victory in Agurain. But there was mixed emotion for SD Worx-Protime, as teammate Anna van der Breggen crashed with 7km to go and lost crucial time in the general classification.
The 148.5km opening stage between Zumarraga and Agurain was no simple sprint day. Featuring three significant climbs – the Arlaban, Opakua and Azazeta – the route offered plenty of opportunities to test the legs. Despite the hilly profile, breakaway interest was limited early on. It wasn’t until the first climb that Morgane Coston, Gaia Segato, and Katia Ragusa launched clear, though Ragusa was soon dropped.
With the peloton riding tempo on the ascents, the break was never allowed to build much of a gap and was caught with over 50km still to race. Attacks then came from Julie Van de Velde and Eva van Agt, who managed to carve out a minute’s advantage before being reeled in with 17km remaining.
As nerves built in the run-in, a crash on a right-hand bend with 7.5km to go brought down several riders including Van der Breggen, who took the worst of the fall. Though she continued after over a minute at the roadside, she lost 43 seconds by the finish and saw her GC chances heavily dented.
Bredewold delivers again in Agurain
With the bunch trimmed and the sprinters’ teams taking control, SD Worx-Protime timed their effort perfectly. Steffi Häberlin delivered a decisive lead-out after an earlier reshuffle in the plan due to Marta Lach getting boxed in. Bredewold came through the final corner in ideal position and launched her sprint immediately, winning with daylight to spare for her third career stage victory at Itzulia Women.
“Of course, I had this stage marked,” Bredewold said afterwards. “It’s a sprint after a tough day, and that really suits me. The team had a lot of faith in me – that felt great, but it made me nervous too. We had to change our lead-out because Marta was stuck, but Steffi did a perfect job.”
She admitted it hadn’t been all smooth sailing. “The middle climb was really hard. At one point I thought I’d blown up – my legs were hurting a lot and I struggled to follow. But in the last hour I started to feel better again.”
Photo Credit: Naikefotosport CxclingVigié and Couzens complete the podium
Behind Bredewold, Millie Couzens of Fenix-Deceuninck and Margaux Vigié of Visma | Lease a Bike rounded out the podium after impressive team performances. Vigié was particularly well-supported, with Van Agt active in the moves earlier in the day before the yellow-and-black team rallied late to set up the French rider’s sprint.
“We raced very well as a team,” said sports director Jan Boven. “We didn’t start with a designated leader, so opportunities were open. Eva and Mijntje raced aggressively, and Margaux finished it off in style.”
GC picture shifts after crash
With the win, Bredewold pulls on the yellow jersey heading into stage 2. But Van der Breggen’s crash has reshaped the GC battle. Having finished 3rd overall at La Vuelta Femenina just days earlier, the former world champion now sits almost a minute down. That puts added focus on defending champion Demi Vollering, who came through the stage unscathed and now inherits the role of outright team leader.
The race continues Saturday with a challenging stage featuring steeper climbs early on – terrain that may suit the puncheurs and GC hopefuls. As Bredewold said: “We’ve reconned tomorrow. It’s harder than today. I don’t know what to expect, but in Itzulia anything can happen.”
2025 Itzulia Women Stage 1 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Naikefotosport Cxcling
