Vuelta – Natalie strong from the outset

The first stage of the women’s Tour of Spain took place this Sunday. The riders faced a rainy day, and in these gloomy conditions, Natalie Quinn stood out for Mayenne Monbana My Pie, finishing 28th.

A punchy stage on paper, this opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina was made even more difficult by the rain. The weather conditions and the nervousness in the peloton caused crashes right from the start. Misfortune did not spare ProTeam Mayenne Monbana My Pie: Karolina Perekitko was notably involved in a crash and lost 31 seconds in the general classification, while Marine Allione also went down in the final. Although all riders made it to the finish, they were unable to support Natalie Quinn, who remained in the front group. The American battled hard and eventually crossed the line in 28th place, among the major teams of the professional peloton.

Monday’s stage, with another punchy profile, may suit the riders of Mayenne Monbana My Pie better. At least, that is the hope of the staff present in Spain.

Natalie Quinn, 28th : “Today it was rainy and technical, with 2 categorized climbs and a tricky finish. We fought hard to try and stay well positioned. At the end, it was a fight for the final corner and I tried my best to be as well positioned as possible. Excited for the days to come!”

Franck Renimel, sports director : “The second part of the race was more suited to breakaways, but we knew the peloton would come back to the front group. So we expected a sprint finish, and that’s what happened. We had placed our hopes on Natalie in case of a sprint. Unfortunately, she couldn’t rely on full team support. It made things difficult in the final. We had an early crash with Karo, who lost time in the general classification. It’s not our main objective, but losing time like that is always frustrating. As for Marine, she crashed with 7 km to go. I hope it’s nothing serious. Natalie finished 28th, which is somewhat anecdotal. We were clearly hoping for better and had higher expectations. We weren’t spared by crashes—it was a tough day. We hope to have a bit more luck tomorrow. We’ll reset and go back on the attack.”

Results :

28 - Natalie Quinn

64 - Karolina Perekitko

67 - Alice Coutinho

79 - Marine Allione

106 - Justine Gegu

108 - Léa Rondel

109 - Francesca Hall

Photo credit : Eduardo Saiz