Noemi Rüegg took the first red jersey of La Vuelta Femenina 2026 with a powerful uphill sprint victory in Salvaterra de Miño, finishing off a wet and tense opening stage that steadily whittled the peloton down. The EF Education-Oatly rider beat Lotte Kopecky and Franziska Koch at the end of 113.9km from Marín, on a day that featured two categorised climbs, repeated pressure on the bunch and a late crash that badly disrupted the run-in for Marianne Vos.
The first road stage of this year’s La Vuelta Femenina always looked likely to create an immediate fight for position. The route was not mountainous, but the combination of two category 3 climbs, rolling roads and an uphill finish meant the pure sprinters were never going to have things entirely their own way.
It was also a wet start in Galicia. The riders rolled out from Marín in poor conditions, and that immediately added tension to a short stage where nobody wanted to lose time or miss the chance to wear red on day one. Attacks came early, with Andrea Casagranda among the first to try, but nothing was allowed to settle as the bunch stayed together through the opening phase.
Squiban and Moolman-Pasio lit up the QOM battle
The first meaningful action came on the Alto do Cruceiro, a 7.8km ascent averaging 4.6 per cent. The peloton remained intact on the climb, but Maëva Squiban was already active and attacked over the top to seize maximum QOM points. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Yuliia Biriukova and Kristen Faulkner followed behind her over the climb, which gave Squiban an early lead in the mountains classification.
The second climb of the day, the Alto da Portela, was shorter at 3.6km but steeper and punchier. Once again the race did not explode into a full breakaway, but the climbing further reduced the bunch and sharpened the battle for position. Moolman-Pasio took maximum points there ahead of Squiban, which left the two riders tied on six points apiece. That meant the polka dot jersey would be decided by who finished higher on the stage.
By then the bunch had already been thinned significantly. The weather, the pace and the technical roads were taking a toll, with Lidl-Trek briefly caught out and later key riders such as Gaia Realini and Kristen Faulkner slipping into difficulty as the race moved towards the finale.
The peloton tightened towards the intermediate sprint
Once the categorised climbs were over, the stage settled only briefly. The bunch rode at tempo rather than easing fully, because everyone knew the intermediate sprint and the uphill finish were coming in quick succession. Teams began to organise more clearly, with Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, FDJ SUEZ and EF Education-Oatly all visible near the front, while Movistar and Visma-Lease a Bike also began to feature prominently as the finish drew closer.
At the intermediate sprint, FDJ SUEZ executed well. Eva van Agt led out Franziska Koch, and the German powered to the line first, taking the bonus seconds ahead of Letizia Paternoster. Those seconds mattered, not only for the stage narrative but for the early shape of the general classification.
There was also a brief split after the sprint when Riejanne Markus helped open a small gap, but the race soon came back together. From there, the tension only increased.
Late crash tears the race apart
The decisive chaos of the day came inside the final 10km. A tight hairpin stretched the bunch into a line, and then a crash with around 8km to go split the race badly. That single moment changed the complexion of the stage.
A lead group of five emerged, including Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Juliette Berthet and Koch, which briefly gave FDJ SUEZ a commanding tactical position. EF Education-Oatly were forced to chase behind, while the bunch split into multiple fragments on the slick roads.
That first move did not stay clear, but the damage was done elsewhere. Marianne Vos was one of the big losers in the incident. She later said she had landed in a ditch, and Visma-Lease a Bike had to commit fully to getting her back into contention. Lieke Nooijen and then Marion Bunel dragged Vos through the cars and back towards the front, eventually making contact again with under 2km to go.
That effort was impressive, but it also meant Vos had already spent valuable energy before the final uphill sprint.
Rüegg judged the finish perfectly
With the race back together in a reduced front group, the final run-in became a contest of positioning and timing. Team SD Worx-ProTime were well placed entering the last kilometre, while Movistar also came through strongly under the flamme rouge. The gradient then began to bite and the bunch quickly stretched out.
Into the final 500 metres, Koch was near the front and looked a genuine contender, but Rüegg had read the finish perfectly. She came through at exactly the right moment, launched a long sprint and immediately opened a visible gap. Kopecky responded, but the former world champion never looked as though she would come fully alongside. Rüegg held her line, held her effort and took a clear and convincing win, with Koch finishing third.
It was the kind of finish that suited her exactly. The final drag rewarded a rider who could sustain power for longer than a pure jump sprint, and Rüegg committed from the last corner without hesitation. She later said it was close to her ideal kind of stage, and it showed.
EF Education-Oatly controlled the key moments
Rüegg’s victory was not just about the last 200 metres. EF Education-Oatly had been present throughout the day, visible on the climbs, organised in the approach to the sprint points and calm in the chaos after the late crash. Alice Towers later explained that the team had to adapt during the stage depending on how riders were feeling, but the overall execution remained strong.
That adaptability mattered. In a stage where the weather, the climbs and the crash all changed the race several times, EF were one of the few teams who looked consistently settled. When the moment came to deliver, they had Rüegg in exactly the right place.
The first red jersey goes to a rider built for this finish
Rüegg’s post-stage reaction made clear just how significant the win was. This was her first Grand Tour stage victory and the first red jersey of the race, earned on a stage that demanded both resilience and precision. She described the finish as almost a dream scenario for her characteristics, and the evidence backed that up.
The uphill drag, the long sprint and the reduced group all played into her strengths. Yet that only matters if a rider can still deliver after two hours of stress, wet roads and repeated changes in rhythm. Rüegg did exactly that.
Kopecky’s second place confirmed she remains one of the peloton’s most dangerous finishers in this kind of finale, while Koch’s third continued her superb spring. Vos, meanwhile, salvaged seventh after her crash and chase, which was an impressive result in the circumstances but also a reminder of what she may have lost in that incident.
For the GC favourites, the time gaps were not huge, but the first stage still mattered. Bonus seconds were taken, riders were split by the crash, and one team leaves the opening day with both the stage and the race lead.
La Vuelta Femenina 2026 Stage 1 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
