Today marked an excellent day for the Swiss team Roland on Salvadoran territory. The Women’s World Tour squad claimed the top three positions in the 2024 Grand Prix Presidente with Swiss rider Elena Hartmann in 1st place, Italian Giorgia Vettorello in 2nd, and Russian Tamara Dronova in 3rd.
Hartmann completed the 104-kilometre course from San Salvador to Juayúa in a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, and 1 second, conquering several climbs along the way to a solo victory. Karen Villamizar continues to have a strong week for Boneshaker Project p/b Roxo by securing 5th place. She was followed by Marcela Prieto in 6th and by Andrea Alzate in 7th place, both finishing 2 minutes and 19 seconds behind Hartmann. Andrea Ramirez, Antri Christoforou and Natalia Franco rounded off the top 10, trailing by 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
Grand Prix Presidente
Today continued the action in the Tour El Salvador 2024 cycling with the third race of this event: the Grand Prix Presidente.
Similar to the Grand Prix El Salvador held on Tuesday, the starting point was Plaza Salvador del Mundo, and the finish line was in Juayúa, covering a distance of 112 kilometres. The peloton traversed the monument to the Constitution towards Plaza Monseñor Romero in Quezaltepeque, passing through Redondel Claudia Lars and reaching the El Congo bridge. The route was characterised by several high points, including the Gerardo Barrios roundabout, Los Naranjos, and Juayúa.
“I’m very, very happy to have won. I think everyone expected me to win, so I’m happy to have fulfilled others’ wishes,” said Elena Hartmann.
Initially unaware of her substantial lead over the other competitors, Hartmann realised that no one would catch up with her as she completed the last eight kilometres.
“I was very confident from the start, and in my mind, I knew I would win, so for me, it was amazing. When I was at the top of the slope, I knew that no one would catch me, so the last eight kilometres, for me, were to be enjoyed, and that’s the best feeling,” she said.
Incidents
Unlike the Grand Prix on Tuesday, only 94 cyclists participated. According to Rubén Contreras, president of the organising committee of the Tour El Salvador, Salvadoran cyclist Iris Bolaños, from the Maca-Electrolit team, did not participate due to the death of her mother.
Additionally, during the race, an accident occurred. Olympic gold medallist Anna Kiesenhofer, from the Roland team, collided with a retaining wall and cyclist Sharon Ramírez from the Bioracer CR- Zepol Muscular team.
According to the official race broadcast, Kisenhofer was taken to a hospital, and a possible fracture was ruled out. The team confirmed that despite some minor bumps, the athlete is fine.
Thursday will be a rest day, and the competition will resume on Friday night with the Vuelta Ciclista prologue, a time trial starting and finishing at the INDES Sports Palace.
2024 Grand Prix Presidente result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
