Spain’s Usoa Ostolaza claimed a well-timed solo win in stage 1 of the Tour El Salvador 2025, outpacing her breakaway companions on the final climb to Nahuizalco. The 97.5km stage, running from the coastal town of Surf City inland to the highlands of Sonsonate, delivered an uphill finale that fractured the front group and created early time gaps in the general classification.
The day began with 117 riders on the start line, following Wednesday’s short opening prologue. The early kilometres along the Pacific coast were largely controlled, with Tamara Dronova, yesterday’s prologue winner, keeping close to the front as the peloton navigated rolling terrain. Several riders attempted to go clear, but with teams like Ceratizit Pro Cycling and Laboral Kutxa keeping the tempo high, no move was allowed to gain more than a handful of seconds.
The heat began to bite as the race turned inland, and the roads kicked upwards. The decisive moment came on the final climb to Nahuizalco: 5.1km in length with an average gradient of 5.6%. Laboral Kutxa dictated the pace into the base of the ascent, setting up Ostolaza and Yanina Kuskova for the finale. The group quickly reduced to four: Ostolaza, Kuskova, Ceratizit’s Elena Hartmann, and her teammate Dilyxine Miermont.
Inside the final kilometre, Ostolaza surged clear on a steep ramp, opening up a slender gap that she held to the line. Hartmann followed three seconds later, with Kuskova close behind in third. Miermont was fourth, and the rest of the field began to arrive nearly a minute later—Colombia’s Natalia Garzón taking fifth at 59 seconds down.
Dronova, who had led the overall after the prologue, faded in the climb and slipped out of the top ten, leaving Hartmann to take over the leader’s jersey thanks to back-to-back second places.
Speaking at the finish, Ostolaza said:
“I’m super happy, I want to thank my whole team for helping me reach the finish. We worked really well together, and in the end, there were two of us in the sprint.”
Gaps open early in GC fight
After two days of racing, Hartmann leads the overall classification by 2 seconds ahead of Ostolaza, with Kuskova a further 4 seconds back in third. Ostolaza also took control of the Queen of the Mountains standings, while Laboral Kutxa leads the team classification – capping off a dominant showing from the Basque outfit.
The race continues with stage 2 in the eastern region of San Miguel, where high temperatures and a flat but exposed route could offer different challenges.
2025 Vuelta a El Salvador Stage 1 result
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