Cat Ferguson convincingly conquers Vila Real/ Vila Real, second stage of the Setmana Ciclistica Valenciana. The young Movistar athlete celebrates her second seasonal success by beating Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance - Soudal Team). Among the top finishers of the day was also Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) who completed the 115-kilometer race in eighth position.

The protagonist of the stage was Lieke Nooijen, a 24-year-old Dutch rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, who remained alone in the lead for many kilometers, collecting points for the climbers' classification in the day's mountain passes.

After climbing the Alto de Ahín, 53 kilometers from the finish line, the breakaway was joined by Australian Talia Appleton (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Norwegian Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) while the peloton was timed with a delay of about 50". At the Onda Intermediate Sprint, Nooijen left her breakaway companions Haugset and Appleton behind, while the Lidl Trek women were setting the pace of the chase.

The hunt for the escapees ended 4 kilometers from the finish line when the group came back together under the push of Elisa Balsamo and her teammates. Just before the red triangle, coming out of a curve, Anna Henderson - who was at the head of the group - crashed and other athletes lost their balance. Thus, the peloton broke into several sections right at the end.

At the end of today's stage, there are no changes at the top of the general classification: Vollering remains in command and Squiban maintains second position ahead of Chladoňová. Tomorrow's third stage of the Iberian race will offer 128 challenging kilometers between Agost and La Nucia.

FINISH ORDER

1 Ferguson Cat Movistar Team 03:04:15

2 Paternoster Letizia Liv AlUla Jayco ,,

3 Borghesi Letizia AG Insurance - Soudal Team ,,

4 Williams Lily Human Powered Health ,,

5 Kraak Amber FDJ United - SUEZ ,,

6 Skalniak-Sójka Agnieszka CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto ,,

7 Couzens Millie Fenix-Premier Tech ,,

8 Gasparrini Eleonora Camilla UAE Team ADQ ,,

9 Riedmann Linda Lotto Intermarché Ladies ,,

10 Vallieres Magdeleine EF Education-Oatly ,,