21-year-old Federica Venturelli (UAE Team ADQ) took victory on her professional debut at the Clásica de Almería, sprinting to the win from a reduced group of six riders at the end of the 118.8km one-day race.
The Italian, who is the reigning under-23 European time trial champion, turned pro with UAE this year after spending two years with the team's development squad. She beat Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) and Jasmin Liechti (Nexetis) to the line.
A group of around 15 riders had stayed together until the final kilometres of the race, where breakaway survivor Agua Marina Espínola (Abadie Magnan) was finally caught.
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That set up the final dash for the line, with UAE enjoying strength in depth for the sprint with Brodie Chapman and Paula Blasi both there, along with Venturelli.
Movistar also had a trio in the group with Sara Martín and Lucía Ruiz Pérez also up there with Sierra. However, Venturelli proved to be the fastest finisher, outpacing the Cuban to score the win.
"I'm really happy with this victory. I wasn't expecting it, because I knew we were here with a very strong team, and I thought the opportunity would come first for the others. Also, in the past few days, I had a small knee issue, so I wasn't sure I was at my best," Venturelli said after her win.
"We raced very smart and aggressively: first with Celia Torres in the breakaway, then with Paula Blasi on the climb, and finally in the last kilometres with new attacks from Paula and Brodie Chapman, while I was able to save some energy for the final sprint.
"In the last kilometres, I felt really good and managed to deliver my sprint. This win gives me a lot of confidence, because it had been two years since my last road race victory, and starting the season like this is unexpected and makes me very happy.
"I share this success with the whole team: we raced very united, and I was also really impressed by the two Development Team riders at their first race in this category – they were fundamental, just like all my teammates and the staff. Thank you everyone."
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