A strong performance by the Lidl - Trek team saw them celebrate at the finish line and take first place in stage 1 of the Vuelta Femenina 2025 in Barcelona. Thanks to their compact riding style and a good lead change strategy, the riders were able to hold their own just ahead of Team SD Worx - Protime and Liv AlUla Jayco. The second and third-placed teams were separated by just 0.7 seconds.

We are super happy, we really wanted to win today. We prepared for it with the whole team and worked towards it - Ellen van Dijk

The Lidl-Trek team practised precisely this discipline in advance of the Vuelta Femenina 2025, not just with the team's riders, but with the entire staff, as Ellen van Dijk revealed in an interview after the stage.

FDJ - Suez and Team Visma | Lease a Bike fall slightly short of expectations

In addition to the strong performances of the three podium teams, there were also some unexpectedly weak performances. Team Visma | Lease a Bike, for example, were unable to show what they are actually known for. With a tenth place, the riders of the Dutch racing team started the tour with a small deficit. The FDJ - Suez team with top favourite Demi Vollering was also surprisingly weak, finishing in fourth place. However, with a gap of around 10 seconds, nothing has yet been decided in the overall standings, especially as it is questionable whether Vollering's strongest rival will come from the Lidl - Trek team.

The team time trial of stage 1 is therefore only a first indication, while the stages of the coming days will decide the overall victory of the Vuelta Femenina 2025. The 7th and final stage next Saturday in particular, with its mountain finish in Alto de Cotobello.Asturias, is likely to decide the outcome.

La Vuelta Femenina 2025 - Results of the 1st stage

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How the 1st stage of the Vuelta Femenina 2025 went

The seven-day tour kicked off with the riders of Team Lotto Ladies, who set the first benchmark time. The following teams were initially unable to beat the time of 10:07.27 minutes, even though the second-class team Coop-Repsol came close to the decimal place. The first team to beat the Lotto Ladies' time was the Cofidis Women Team, which immediately made up a whole 10 seconds. Shortly afterwards, however, the Picnic PostNL team set the fastest time by almost eighteen seconds.

Starting problems for two teams

The start of the Uno-X Mobility and Team Visma | Lease a Bike teams caused some astonishment when they encountered problems. Team Uno-X Mobility's riders rolled off the start ramp at different times and with a slight delay, which was a slight disadvantage. Team Visma | Lease a Bike then had bigger problems, as they were not even fully assembled on the ramp at the start. One of the team's riders rolled onto the start ramp a few seconds after her team-mates and was unable to catch up. This meant that the team lost a rider for the team time trial right at the start and she had to fight her way over the entire course alone. The following teams then started again as a whole and without any delays.

Liv-AlUla-Jayco with a strong performance - Team Lidl -Trek unbeatable

It was surprising that neither the Movistar Team nor Team Visma | Lease a Bike were able to set new best times. The latter team in particular was regarded as one of the favourites for the team time trial, but was unable to live up to expectations, which was certainly also due to the team's unsuccessful start. Liv AlUla Jayco put in a particularly strong performance, setting a time that was initially only beaten by Lidl-Trek by three seconds. As the penultimate team, the SD Worx - Protime team came within a hair's breadth of Liv-AlUla Jayco and secured second place. Nobody was able to beat the strong performance of the Lidl - Trek team.

Crash of Vittoria Guazzini - FDJ - Suez only fourth

The team led by top favourite Demi Vollering (FDJ - Suez) did not get off to a dream start at the start of the Tour of Spain, with a crash at the turning point. Vittoria Guazzini was the penultimate rider and hit the brakes of the rider behind her. With this weakened line-up, the team's riders still managed to finish fourth.