Lorena Wiebes opened her account at the 2025 Vuelta a Burgos Féminas with a typically clinical sprint finish in Poza de la Sal, overcoming late-race chaos and a punchy climb to secure her 101st career win. The SD Worx rider outkicked Elisa Balsamo and teammate Lotte Kopecky on the uphill drag to the line, donning the purple leader’s jersey in the process.
The first stage covered 125km from Burgos to Poza de la Sal, taking in rolling terrain and a technical final run-in. From the flag, the racing was animated. Morgane Coston and Idoia Eraso Lasa broke clear early, with Coston sweeping up points on both the Alto de Las Rebolledas and Alto de la Ermita de Las Mercedes. The pair built a gap of over four minutes, with Coston briefly riding solo before reuniting with Eraso to maintain the advantage.
Further back, the peloton remained relaxed until the descent off La Mazmorra 30km from the finish, where the race turned sharply. SD Worx applied the pressure on the twisty downhill, fracturing the bunch. An 11-rider move emerged, including Wiebes, Kopecky and Guarischi, alongside Longo Borghini, Niedermaier, Célia Gery, Aude Biannic and Franziska Koch.
With key names missing the move – including Balsamo and Marlen Reusser, Lidl-Trek and Movistar threw everything into the chase. But cooperation in the front group was limited. “Only four of us were working,” explained Longo Borghini. “Behind, they were hammering it.”
The group was caught shortly before the Alto de La Varga, where Gery surged again, this time with Steffi Häberlin. The pair managed to hold off the peloton until the final 1.3km, creating late-race tension. Mireia Benito launched a solo counter, but it was quickly covered as the gradient increased into Poza de la Sal.
Kopecky leads, Wiebes finishes
In the final 500 metres, it was Kopecky who controlled the bunch. She hit the front early and led into the final corner, stringing out the pack. For a moment, Wiebes appeared boxed in, but a move by Longo Borghini opened up space on the outside. Wiebes seized the opportunity, accelerated past Balsamo and Kopecky, and crossed the line with three bike lengths in hand.
“It feels good to win the first stage,” said Wiebes. “Lotte and I had two good chances for this finish. Elisa Balsamo was also in that fight, but in the end, the strategy worked for me.”
Reflecting on the finale, she added: “We knew the final stretch would be steep towards the last 300 metres. I was able to take the outside on the last turn following Elisa Longo Borghini, and the final stretch was very tough. But it was nice to be able to finish this way.”
She also praised the race atmosphere and her form in Burgos: “Yes. I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a beautiful race, and stages like this have everything, so it’s nice.”
Behind the SD Worx duo and Balsamo, Elisa Longo Borghini took fourth, just ahead of Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka. The Polish rider recorded her 12th top-ten result of the season, once again showing her adaptability across terrain.
“The final was really hard, but I gave it my all,” said Skalniak. “The sprint started with 300m to go, so it was quite a long sprint, but in the last few metres, I was also able to pass a few riders. I’m happy with today – I couldn’t do anything more.”
She praised her teammates, who helped control the regrouping and late attacks: “The girls did an amazing job for me, always motivating me and being there to close the breakaway, which was caught with just one kilometre to go.”
2025 Vuelta a Burgos Stage 1 result
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Main photo credit: Vuelta a Burgos
