Rooijakkers wins Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria

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Pauliena Rooijakkers (Canyon SRAM Racing Team) rode to a solo victory at Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria on Tuesday. Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) trailed 15 seconds later for second, while Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) was third.

Rooijakkers attacked with 10km to go on the final climb and rode away for her first victory of the season.

"I was looking forward to this for many years and then finally, I get it,” the Dutch rider said. She came into the Spanish race having finished second overall at Itzulia Women.

The one-day Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria was a short and punchy day of racing at 113km that included four intermediate sprints on a short hill in Miota followed by three ascents; Areitio (83km), Goiuria (94km) and Goiuria (104.3km) bbefore a descent and flat run-in to Durango.

A breakaway emerged after the first sprint in Miota with Sheyla Gutiérrez (Movistar) and Isabel Martin (Rio Miera- Cantabria Deporte), Naia Amondarain (Sopela Women's Team). Amondarian lost contact with the move, as the two leaders pushed their lead out to 2:40 just over 40m into the race.

Gutierrez attacked Martin in the final 30km, but a new she was caught as a new group of leaders emerged over the succession of ascents to include Soraya Paladin and Rooijakkers, and Ewers.

With three riders joining Rooijakkers in the top 10 - Soraya Paladin sixth, Elise Chabbey seventh, and Neve Bradbury eighth - Canyon-SRAM Racing won the team’s classification.

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