Vuelta Femenina - Stage 1: Rüegg wins the opening stage, Koch passes the leader's jersey at the same time
Sebastian Lindner
· 03.05.2026
Koch had won the intermediate sprint on the way, which gave her bonus seconds. Together with those who finished third, she has ten - the same number as Rüegg, who is entitled to the leader's jersey due to her better position on the day. After 114 kilometres, when the riders entered the last bend between Marín and Salvaterra de Miño, a difficult 250 metres with plenty of climbing awaited. The trio that finished on the podium began their sprint almost simultaneously. But there was nothing they could do against the 25-year-old Swiss rider that day. And Kopecky also had to let Koch pass in the final metres.
Koch may have lost the crucial energy in the last ten kilometres. When a crash split the peloton, the German suddenly found herself with two team-mates, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Alessia Vigilia (Uno-X Mobility), a few seconds ahead of the field. The group tried for a few kilometres to make it to the finish, but were caught again.
Rüegg: "My dream stage would look like this"
Rüegg's team also played a big part in this. "I knew right from the start that this final was perfect for me," she said after her race. "And if I could choose a dream stage, this would be it. After the last bend, I put the pedal to the metal so that I wouldn't have any regrets afterwards and saw that I already had a gap of a few metres. I knew that I could win. This is a dream come true for me."
For Rüegg, it was the seventh victory of her career, having already won a stage and the overall classification of the Tour Down Under in 2025. She has also finished second at Milan-Sanremo this year and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race.
Vuelta Femenina 2026 - Results of the 1st stage
Stage 1: Marín - Salvaterra de Miño
Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es 2026: Stage 1, Marín - Salvaterra de Miño
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EF Education-Oatly | 02:53:50 |
| 2 | Team SD Worx - Protime | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | FDJ United - SUEZ | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | UAE Team ADQ | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | UAE Team ADQ | +00:00:00 |
How the 1st stage of the Vuelta Femenina 2026 went
The rainy start of the Vuelta Femenina began rather drearily, regardless of the weather. There were hardly any breakaway attempts, the few attacks were stopped immediately. A group of the day did not develop.
Only the two mountain classifications saw some tension. Asleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) and Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) each won one and finished the other in second place. Here, too, the tie was decided by the better result of the day, which tipped the scales in favour of Squiban for the mountain jersey.
FDJ United - Suez, EF Education - Oatly and SD Worx - Protime kept the peloton together, there were no breakaways. With 25 kilometres to go, there was a bonus sprint from the peloton, in which Koch came out on top. Lid - Trek tried to increase the pace in the wave that immediately followed, but were unable to split the peloton.
This was only made possible by a crash a good eight kilometres before the finish in a slippery, downhill bend. Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), one of the favourites for the stage win, crashed. She only closed the gap to the front one and a half kilometres before the finish, meaning that her starting position was ultimately no longer sufficient to fight for victory at the front. It was Koch, Rüegg and Kopecky who decided the victory among themselves. All of the favourites for overall victory held their own.
