Catalonia – A strong opening day at the front

The Volta Catalunya got underway this Friday along the Mediterranean coast. On this opening day, the Mayenne Monbana My Pie team stood out, thanks to an attack by Constance Valentin and a 5th place finish for Kiara Lylyk.

Spain brings back fond memories for the French ProTeam. At the Vuelta Femenina in early May, the riders of Mayenne Monbana My Pie spent a long time in the mountains classification jersey. That was again the objective on Friday. Constance Valentin made it into the breakaway but unfortunately was unable to collect enough points to contend for the jersey. The team therefore shifted its focus to a strong result in the sprint finish. Kiara Lylyk, thanks to her teammates’ work, was perfectly positioned and went on to take an excellent 5th place on the line. A relief for the Canadian rider, who had been below expectations earlier in the season and is now clearly back in form. She will wear the best young rider's jersey tomorrow!

On Saturday, the queen stage will take the peloton to La Molina, a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It will be another opportunity for Mayenne Monbana My Pie to aim for a strong result, with Karolina Perekitko as the team’s main card.

Kiara Lylyk, 5th. "I want to thank the girls for giving me the opportunity today. We put all our energy to be in a good position. Then in the final kilometre I couldn’t believe that what I visualized is what we did. It’s not a win, but after a difficult winter and spring of needing to focus on my health, it feels like a win to me".

Damien Pommereau, sports director : “It’s a pretty good performance from Kiara. She was well placed and did what was necessary to avoid the crash that happened in the final kilometre. The initial goal was to have Constance in the break to go for the polka-dot jersey. She made it into the break, but the riders didn’t collaborate much and she ended up quite isolated, while the peloton didn’t let them get much of an advantage. She had to work, otherwise the bunch would have come back immediately. In the end, the VolkerWessels rider (Laura Molenaar) attacked her directly at the start of the descent after the sprint. Constance then let it go. Later, ahead of the sprint, Justine came to the team car with 15 km to go and we decided together to fully back Kiara. Constance and Kiara then spent their last energy positioning her perfectly. A crash caused a split in the finale, leaving around 10 riders to contest the win. Kiara launched her sprint from far behind the two Visma riders who were untouchable, but two riders passed her on the line. It’s a bit of a shame—she could have taken 3rd—but we’re still happy with 5th place. Against strong sprinters, it’s a solid result.”

Results - stage 1 / provisional general classification :

5 - Kiara Lylyk

40 - Karolina Perekitko

55 - Constance Valentin

93 - Justine Gegu

General classification after stage 1 :

5 - Constance Valentin

8 - Kiara Lylyk

43 - Karolina Perekitko

97 - Justine Gegu

2nd mountains classification - Constance Valentin

2nd best young rider's classification - Kiara Lylyk

5th points classification - Constance Valentin

Photo credit : Eduardo Saiz.