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Defending champion Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) took victory on stage 2 of Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta on Saturday.
The German 32-year-old bettered the times of Trek-Segafredo pair Elisa Longo Borghini and Ellen van Dijk to win the flat 9.3km time trial in Boadilla del Monte and move into the GC lead. Brennauer’s time of 12:40 was just one second faster than that set by Longo Borghini.
“I am very happy with this win,” Brennauer said. “I didn’t know it was that close, so I’m glad I went all the way to the finish line.”
Overnight race-leader Lorena Wiebes (Sunweb) finished 11th on the stage, 28 seconds slower than Brennauer. Having started the day with a 10-second gap on the German, Wiebes now drops to fifth on GC. Brennauer’s time trial win vaults her to the top of the classification, 10 seconds up on Longo Borghini.
Of the contenders for the overall, Leah Kirchmann (Sunweb) set the first benchmark time, posting a time of 12:54 to land her in the hot seat. The Canadian was soon ousted by Longo Borghini however, whose time remained the fastest even after Annamiek van Vleuten completed her race. The Dutch star set a time of 12:48 that would eventually leave her in fourth place on the day.
It was Brennauer that took the race lead from Longo Borghini, and stayed in the hot seat through til Wiebes, last out of hte gate, rode to 11th.
The race wraps up Sunday with a 99km circuit race in central Madrid. Brennauer took 16th on the exact same stage last year, and will be looking to improve on her result as she defends her GC lead.
“Of course I want to win and now I have the chance,” she said. “I know the race well, because I also raced there last year. I’m going to do my best to grab seconds. I can’t do more than my best. Of course, there is pressure, but not in a bad way.”
Stage 2 results
- Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT): 12:40
- Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo): +0:01
- Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo): +0:01
GC after stage 2
- Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT): 2:12:51
- Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo): +0:10
- Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo): +0:13