Mischa Bredewold powered to victory in a reduced sprint on stage 2 of the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana beating Elisa Balsamo and Liane Lippert to the line in Nules. The win marked Bredewold’s first triumph of the season, while Demi Vollering finished fourth and retained her lead in the overall classification.
The 134km stage from Benicàssim to Nules featured two key climbs: Alto Les Coronetes and Alto de Salt del Cavall. These ascents provided opportunities for aggressive racing, and it was Brodie Chapman and Eva van Agt who seized the moment to launch the day’s main breakaway.
Chapman and van Agt escaped the peloton just before the intermediate sprint at La Barona, with the Australian taking the points and bonus seconds. However, as the duo hit the slopes of Alto Les Coronetes, van Agt struggled to keep pace, leaving Chapman to go solo over the summit. She extended her advantage to over a minute, while van Agt was reeled in by a peloton led by FDJ-SUEZ.
Chapman’s solo effort falls short
Chapman showed her strength over the second and final climb, Alto de Salt del Cavall, holding her lead as the peloton worked to bring her back. FDJ-SUEZ controlled the chase, assisted by Fenix-Deceuninck and Movistar, who saw a sprint finish as their best chance for success.
Despite Chapman’s determined ride and use of her time-trialling abilities on the rolling terrain towards Nules, her gap was cut to just 15 seconds with 10km remaining. The peloton timed the catch perfectly, bringing her back with 4km to go as teams jostled for position in the run-in to the line.
Bredewold takes the sprint
Lidl-Trek and Liv-AlUla-Jayco initially controlled the final kilometres, before Uno-X Mobility surged to the front inside the last kilometre. The reduced group prepared for a chaotic sprint, with Bredewold positioning herself perfectly on Lippert’s wheel.
As the sprint unfolded, Lippert launched first, but Bredewold reacted swiftly, coming around the German to take the victory. Balsamo, the pre-stage favourite, had found herself boxed in and was unable to come past Bredewold before the line.
“I was initially sure I had won, but then my sports director said something in my earpiece, and I started doubting,” Bredewold said post-race. “It was a tense wait, but I was able to celebrate in the end.”
Vollering finished safely in the main group to maintain her lead in the general classification after her dominant display on stage 1. The Dutch rider remains in control heading into stage 3, where a sprint finish is expected in València.
With two stages remaining, the race is still open, but Vollering’s position at the top looks secure for now. Attention now turns to stage 3, where riders such as Nienke Veenhoven and other sprinters will hope to take advantage of a flatter parcours.
2025 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana Stage 2 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
