A polished team effort guides Elisa to the runner up spot
Elisa Balsamo finished second on stage 2 of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas in Bodegas Viña Pedrosa, the result of a near-flawless Lidl-Trek leadout that made the most of a chaotic finale, and was only beaten by Lorena Wiebes.
The 122-kilometre stage from Castrojeriz was animated early by a three-rider breakaway which held a gap of nearly three minutes before being reeled in with around 23 kilometres to go. The sprint teams then faced a restless final stretch, with repeated attacks keeping them on high alert, although Lidl-Trek managed to be well-represented in any would be escape. A crash with 4.6 kilometres remaining added further disorder, but Lidl-Trek rode through it cleanly, keeping Balsamo insulated and perfectly positioned for the run-in.
Inside the final 200 metres, Balsamo launched a strong sprint but was surpassed by Wiebes, with Ally Wollaston third. After two stages, Wiebes leads in the general classification, whilst Balsamo sits in the top five, although the remaining two stages will certainly see a major shakeup to the GC.
In Elisa’s words…
“I just want to say that I’m happy about today. First of all, about the team, because I think we did an amazing job in the last kilometres. The leadout was really nice and everyone did everything perfect. Especially after yesterday, it was a really good reaction – yesterday we made some mistakes. Then I did my best sprint, but Lorena is just stronger. I think I can be satisfied with myself.”
(Photo by Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
