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TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LaVueltaFem
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaVueltaFem/
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TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@lavuelta
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APP: https://www.lavueltafemenina.es/en/applicatio...
PODCAST: https://www.lavueltafemenina.es/en/la-carrera...
Unipublic S.A.U.
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DeportesTranscripción
00:00 Welcome to La Vuelta a Femenina 2024.
00:04 The classics are over and it's time to sink our teeth into the Grand Tour season.
00:08 But first, let's remind ourselves what happened last year.
00:12 It all kicked off with a team time trial and Jumbo Visma took victory by just a second from Canyon SRAM
00:18 with Anna Henderson taking the first at leaders red jersey.
00:22 She would soon be passing that on to her team mate Mariana Vos.
00:25 The Dutch legend was pipped by Charlotte de Kool on stage 2, but she took the honours on stages 3 and 4.
00:32 And then it was over to the GC battle.
00:35 Demi Follering beating Annemiek van Vleuten to take red on the first summit finish on stage 5.
00:41 But an untimely nature break and some crosswind chaos changed everything on stage 6.
00:46 AVV may have been stunned by Gaia Raillini on the line, but she ended up in red.
00:52 On to the final stage to the iconic Lagosta Covadonga.
00:56 Van Vleuten fighting for all she was worth because Follering was on a charge.
01:00 She won the stage, but Van Vleuten held on to seal overall victory by just 9 seconds after an epic race.
01:07 Well, Van Vleuten retired at the end of 2023, so she isn't here to defend her title.
01:16 On paper, Follering looks like the favourite, but she is yet to win a race in 2024.
01:21 Littletrek have a strong line-up, spearheaded by Elisa Longa Borghini,
01:25 twice a runner-up at this race in its previous, shorter format, and Gaia Raillini, who was third last year.
01:31 Canyon Tram are here with Riccardo Bauernfeind, another of last year's revelations,
01:35 and Kasia Niewiadoma, who just won La Fleche Val en Femme.
01:39 And this Melissa bike will once again be targeting Red With Voss, with Rihanna Marcus their main GC threat.
01:48 For the second year running, we start with the Team Time Trial, 16km through the streets of Valencia.
01:54 There are no major difficulties on the course, but it's rare to see a TTT on the Women's World Tour calendar,
02:00 so this will be an unfamiliar discipline for many of the riders.
02:04 It's going to be key for the overall GC favourites to avoid shipping too much time.
02:12 We are off for our opening team. They are underway for the opening stage of La Vuelta a Femenina.
02:19 Team Cop Repsol had the honour of getting this Vuelta a Femenina underway
02:25 and spent a few minutes in the hot seat as the eight continental teams hit the course.
02:30 Among them were EF Education Cannondale, a brand new team this year,
02:34 but boasting some big names such as Kim Kadzo, Kristen Faulkner and Alison Jackson.
02:39 It was no surprise to see the ladies in pink going top of the timesheets.
02:43 Liv Alula-Jacob were also powering around Valencia, led by their Spanish road race champion Mavi Garcia.
02:51 But could they unseat EF?
02:53 This is going to be incredibly tight for this finish here.
02:57 We've just got four riders, which is all we need for the finish.
02:59 And what are they going to be able to do on the line? Oh, no. One second.
03:05 Well, they weren't the only ones to come oh so close to beating that time.
03:09 FDJ Suez missing out by just seven hundredths of a second.
03:13 Wow, wow, wow. Very, very close in this team time trial. This is getting extremely exciting today.
03:20 Well, by now, the big guns were out on course.
03:23 Last year's team time trial winners, Visma Lisa Baik, Canyon SRAM down to just five riders due to a spate of illness.
03:30 Lidl Trek, arguably the favourites for this stage, and SD Works Pro Time with a very focused looking Demi Follering.
03:38 Visma Lisa Baik were the first to finally best EF's time.
03:42 Vos & Co looking to double up as they raced around in 19 minutes and 20 seconds.
03:48 Considering their loss to Justyna Kazapler and Niamh Bradbury just before the race,
03:54 Canyon SRAM did a remarkable job of limiting their losses only eight seconds down on Visma.
04:00 Lidl Trek had gone quickest at the intermediate checkpoint and they were looking dialed in, but then disaster struck on the final corner.
04:08 Oh, no, we've got a disaster. We've got a crash on that finish bend. We have a rider down.
04:14 But all was not lost for the American squad. Incredibly, even with that crash,
04:20 they got four of their riders to the line in a quicker time than Visma Lisa Baik.
04:24 So could Follering and her team improve that mark? They could not.
04:31 SD Works Pro Time falling just one second short on a day of fine margins.
04:36 As the defending champions, Movistar were the last team out on course, but they never looked like overhauling their rivals.
04:43 Pushing, pushing, pushing. 19 minutes, 32 seconds.
04:49 So Lidl Trek have taken the win here in Valencia with a time of 19 minutes and 20 seconds.
04:55 Talk about an emotional roller coaster for Lidl Trek.
04:58 They thought they'd lost it on the last corner when Ellen van Dyck and Eleanor Backstead crashed,
05:03 but then they came through to win a pulsating team time trial by just nine hundredths of a second.
05:08 Gaia Raiolini was the first woman over the line, so the Italian, already a stage winner last year, is our first race leader.
05:16 I'm really happy about these results for me and for the team,
05:21 but I'm not happy, completely happy, because in the last corner two of my teammates crashed.
05:29 But in the end, I'll take this result and focus on the next stage.
05:35 Lidl Trek taking it by a whisker from Visma with SD Works only a second back.
05:41 The top ten teams on the day only separated by 32 seconds. Everything is still to play for.
05:47 In the overall standings, Raiolini leads her teammates Lizzie Dignan and Brodie Chapman.
05:52 Luckily no concussion for van Dyck, but she has been taken to hospital to get stitched up and rule out any fractures.
05:58 We wish her a speedy recovery.
06:00 So a dramatic start to this Vuelta a Femenina and the fun's only just getting started.
06:05 Join us again on Monday for a sprint between Buñol and Valencia.
06:10 And thanks for watching.
06:11 And thanks for watching.
06:12 And thanks for watching.
06:13 (dramatic music)