The second stage of the 2025 Vuelta a Burgos Féminas delivered everything but calm. Across 122.6km from Villalba de Duero to Roa de Duero, the GC picture was turned on its head by wind, a well-timed attack, and a crash that left some of the biggest names chasing shadows. In the end, Mie Bjørndal Ottestad powered past Marlen Reusser to take both the stage win and the leader’s jersey on the eve of the summit finish at Picón Blanco.
The early kilometres of the stage were relatively routine, with a small break featuring Diana Alzate of Eneicat and Federica Cagnazzo of BePink gaining a modest gap. But the flat terrain and calm tempo were deceptive. With 40km remaining, the wind picked up and the tension rose.
Then came the key moment. A crash 31km from the finish split the peloton. While Lotte Kopecky managed to stay upright, she was caught out of position behind the incident. UAE Team ADQ sensed the opportunity and upped the tempo immediately, forcing a split that also isolated several SD Worx riders. Lidl-Trek joined the effort, and the damage was done. Kopecky, despite support from Barbara Guarischi, Femke Markus, and Marie Schreiber, couldn’t close the gap and eventually lost 1:46 at the finish line.
Photo Credit: Ricardo OrdóñezAttacks on the final climb
With the peloton already shattered, the race kicked again at the Alto de Cerca Peseta (1.3km at 5.9%). UAE sent Paula Blasi up the road first, and then Elisa Longo Borghini launched a stronger move that distanced several sprinters. However, she couldn’t make it stick.
Instead, it was Marlen Reusser who made the telling move just over the top of the climb, with 8km to go. The Swiss rider attacked decisively, and only Mie Ottestad could follow. The pair quickly pulled out a 15-second lead while the rest hesitated.
Despite a strong chase from behind, the gap held. In the final uphill sprint through Roa, Reusser opened up first, but Ottestad timed her effort to perfection and came around to take her first WorldTour win.
Ottestad said afterwards that it had been a stage with a crazy finish. She added that escaping with Marlen, who she described as very strong, and then winning in a sprint was really cool.
She also credited her Uno-X Mobility teammates for keeping her well-positioned throughout the stage. The initial plan had been to set up a sprint for Linda Zanetti, but with the chaos unfolding and the opportunity arising late on, the team adapted. Ottestad explained that they were always at the front during the stage, so today was a team effort. She added that when she saw the gap open she just went, and they managed to hold on until the finish.
Reactions from the chasers
Lorena Wiebes salvaged third place by winning the sprint from the reduced bunch, but it wasn’t enough to hold the purple jersey. SD Worx sports director Christian Kos admitted they had hoped to take sporting revenge by winning the stage with Lorena. He said she got over that tricky climb well but just missed the moment when Reusser and Ottestad attacked. After that, she won the sprint easily, but that doesn’t buy them anything.
As for Kopecky, her GC bid is over. Kos was blunt about it, calling it a bad day. He said that until the crash, there seemed to be no problem. Lotte narrowly avoided a crash herself, but was seriously hampered. That was the signal for some teams to go full out. Kos added that they did what they could in the chase, but with about four riders you can’t compete with an unleashed peloton.
Strong performances further back
Poland’s Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka of Canyon SRAM backed up her 5th place from stage 1 with another 5th in Roa. She was third across the line in the bunch sprint behind Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo.
“I tried to sprint as best as I could,” said Skalniak-Sójka. “If there wasn’t a breakaway, I could have been third. But I’m still happy with it.”
Elsewhere, Fiona Mangan rode to 12th after getting back into position with help from Constance Valentin following the crash. Mangan said she was happy to have her head and legs back after a difficult start to the season.
Ottestad now leads the general classification by nine seconds over Reusser, with Wiebes in third. But the standings are likely to change again on Saturday when the race hits the slopes of Picón Blanco – a Category 1 ascent with gradients up to 12.5%.
Looking ahead to the queen stage, Ottestad acknowledged the challenge: it will be a different race than today, with a lot of climbs. She added that we’ll see if we have the legs or not. Whether or not she keeps the jersey, the Norwegian has already made her mark on Burgos.
Photo Credit: Vuelta a Burgos2025 Vuelta a Burgos Stage 2 result
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Main photo credit: Ricardo Ordóñez
