Vuelta a Burgos Feminas: Henttala wins the opening stage - Crash overshadows stage 1

Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) narrowly missed out on victory on stage 1 of the women's Tour of Burgos. The Austrian broke away from the peloton around two kilometres before the finish and was only sprinted over in the final metres by the eventual winner Lotta Henttala (EF Education-Cannondale). However, the 34-year-old Finn's success was overshadowed by a serious crash that occurred in the final sprint.

Lidl-Trek gives update on Elisa Balsamo after fall

Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) fell and crashed into a barrier. Balsamo tried to pass Bertizzolo on the left side of the road through a narrow gap at the barriers around 200 metres before the finish, touched her compatriot's elbow and both crashed into the barrier. As Lidl-Trek announced in the evening, Balsamo suffered a broken nose, a concussion and a broken metacarpal bone.

Bertizzolo was taken to hospital for further examinations, as her team announced. A short time later, she was also diagnosed with a fracture of the radius (radius) in her left forearm.

Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2024 - Results: the top 10 of stage 1

1. Lotta Henttala (EF Education-Cannondale) 3:02:33
2. Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:00
3. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime) +0:00
4. Elise Chabbey (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:00
5. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:00
6. Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) +0:00
7. Letizia Borghesi (EF Education-Cannondale) +0:00
8. Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:00
9. Megan Jastrab (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
10. Sarah Roy (Cofidis Women Team) +0:00

The current standings in the overall standings

1. Lotta Henttala (EF Education-Cannondale) 3:02:33
2. Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:04
3. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime) +0:06
4. Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) +0:07
5. Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) +0:08
6. Elise Chabbey (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:10
7. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:10
8. Letizia Borghesi (EF Education-Cannondale) +0:10
9. Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:10
10. Megan Jastrab (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:10

>> All stages of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2024 at a glance

How the 1st stage of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2024 went

A breakaway group was initially unable to break away on the opening loop north of Burgos. The wind, which sometimes came from the side, made things difficult for the riders. Around 55 kilometres before the finish, a soloist, Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility), broke away from the peloton, which had split up, but later ran together again. The 29-year-old Norwegian was given a lead of around three minutes by the peloton. The top teams in the peloton only woke up late. In the finale, it was Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx - Protime) herself who, together with her team-mate Marlen Reusser, set the pace to prepare the sprint for Lorena Wiebes.

Carina Schrempf's courageous attack is not rewarded

At the 10-kilometre mark, the peloton was still around two minutes behind Aalerud. But the breakaway's lead melted away in the headwind. In addition, the Norwegian was running out of energy and Fenix-Deceuninck also joined the chase in the peloton. Not without reason.

About two kilometres before the finish, the Austrian Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) attacked out of the peloton. Her lead looked promising. However, it wasn't quite enough to win. In the final metres, Lotta Henttala shot past the 29-year-old Austrian and secured victory in the sprint, which was overshadowed by the heavy crash of Bertizzolo and Balsamo.