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The second day of racing at La Vuelta Espa\u00f1a Femenina delivered another tough, selective day in the Galician region of Spain and fifth for Victoria\u2019s Sarah Van Dam, who was once again soooo close to the dub.<\/p>\n
The big news of the day was a blow to the race as overall leader Noemi R\u00fcegg did not finish. The red jersey and her EF teammate (who was in the white jersey) Elena Ciabocco went down hard. Although R\u00fcegg got back riding, she eventually was forced to abandon. Ciabocco, however, did make it, but lost the young rider\u2019s jersey.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83c\udfc1 8 km | Etapa 2\ufe0f\u20e3 \u2013 Stage 2\ufe0f\u20e3 | #LaVueltaFemenina<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2639\ufe0f Noemi R\u00fcegg y Eleonora Ciabocco se van al suelo y la l\u00edder tiene que abandonar \ud83d\ude13 Mientras tanto, Aalerud es cabeza de carrera en solitario<\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude13 Race leader Noemi R\u00fcegg and Eleonora Ciabocco go down and R\u00fcegg abandons \ud83d\ude22\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/OKKR3EgFwV<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (@LaVueltaFem) May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Attacks started to fly again inside the final 30 km, thinning the bunch before the catch was made.<\/p>\n
The hectic finale<\/h2>\n
On the final rise, the group was whittled down before SD Worx-Protime took control for Lotte Kopecky. But this time, it wasn\u2019t the world champion who came through. Shari Bossuyt timed her sprint to perfection, taking the win from the reduced bunch.<\/p>\n
Van Dam\u2019s sprint<\/h2>\n
Visma-Lease a Bike\u2019s 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<\/a>. 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\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Sarah Van Dam, la ciclista del Visma Lease a Bike, en su primera gran vuelta con el equipo#EsenciaCiclista<\/a> #LaVueltaFemenina<\/a> #ciclismo<\/a> #cycling<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gRlN7ZItEQ<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Esencia Ciclista (@EsenciaCiclista) May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Paris-Roubaix winner Franziska Koch (FDJ United \u2013 SUEZ) takes the red jersey. Van Dam moves up to 11th overall.<\/p>\n
Stage 3 is Padr\u00f3n to A Coru\u00f1a for a total of 121.2 km. It\u2019s another lumpy day in Galicia. You can watch the race on FloBikes.com<\/a> at 6:40 a.m. EDT.<\/p>\n
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