The second day of racing at La Vuelta España Femenina delivered another tough, selective day in the Galician region of Spain and fifth for Victoria’s Sarah Van Dam, who was once again soooo close to the dub.
Stage 2
The big news of the day was a blow to the race as overall leader Noemi Rüegg did not finish. The red jersey and her EF teammate (who was in the white jersey) Elena Ciabocco went down hard. Although Rüegg got back riding, she eventually was forced to abandon. Ciabocco, however, did make it, but lost the young rider’s jersey.
🏁 8 km | Etapa 2️⃣ – Stage 2️⃣ | #LaVueltaFemenina
☹️ Noemi Rüegg y Eleonora Ciabocco se van al suelo y la líder tiene que abandonar 😓 Mientras tanto, Aalerud es cabeza de carrera en solitario
😓 Race leader Noemi Rüegg and Eleonora Ciabocco go down and Rüegg abandons 😢… pic.twitter.com/OKKR3EgFwV
— La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (@LaVueltaFem) May 4, 2026
The pace was relentless all day. A five-rider breakaway eventually formed, but the peloton never gave them much room, keeping the gap tight on rolling roads that added up to more than 2,100 metres of elevation.
Attacks started to fly again inside the final 30 km, thinning the bunch before the catch was made.
The hectic finale
On the final rise, the group was whittled down before SD Worx-Protime took control for Lotte Kopecky. But this time, it wasn’t the world champion who came through. Shari Bossuyt timed her sprint to perfection, taking the win from the reduced bunch.
Van Dam’s sprint
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Van Dam was right there in the mix again, finishing fifth after another strong ride. The day began with some crappy news about her team leader, Marianne Vos. The Dutch super star DNS after breaking her collarbone in a crash in Stage 1. Still, that might mean more opportunities for Van Dam for stages like today’s.
🎙️ Sarah Van Dam, la ciclista del Visma Lease a Bike, en su primera gran vuelta con el equipo#EsenciaCiclista #LaVueltaFemenina #ciclismo #cycling pic.twitter.com/gRlN7ZItEQ
— Esencia Ciclista (@EsenciaCiclista) May 4, 2026
Meanwhile, Kopecky was not happy with the sprint, however. In the finale she knocked shoulders with Bossuyt, who is usually her madison teammate on the track.
Paris-Roubaix winner Franziska Koch (FDJ United – SUEZ) takes the red jersey. Van Dam moves up to 11th overall.
Stage 3 is Padrón to A Coruña for a total of 121.2 km. It’s another lumpy day in Galicia. You can watch the race on FloBikes.com at 6:40 a.m. EDT.