Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) used her fast finish to win a three-up sprint to the line and take the victory at one-day Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria.
The powerful climber was part of a two-rider breakaway that formed over the final ascent of the Alto de Goiuria along with Ane Santesteban (Team Jayco AlUla). In a massive effort, Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech Roland) bridged across to the two breakaway leaders in the closing kilometre.
Moolman started her sprint first and crossed the line with day's the victory, leaving Santesteban to settle for second and Steels in third on the day.
The peloton raced 113km along a hilly parcours that included four early circuits with an intermediate sprint at Alto de Miota, followed by three categorised ascents at Areitio (4.3km at 4.2%), Alto de Goiuria (5km at 4.8%) and Alto de Goiuria (4.8km at 5.6% before a descent into Durango.
The peloton was intact along the opening circuits, Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) took full points at the first sprint at Alto de Miota, with Valentina Basilico (Bepink) taking the full points on the next lap, Benito on the third lap before a breakaway set off ahead of the hilly final stretch of racing.
The five-rider move included Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team), Tamara Dronova-Balabolina (Israel Premier Tech Roland), Debora Silvestri (Laboral Kutxa Fundación Euskadi), Gaia Masetti (AG Insurance- Soudal-QuickStep), and Alice Palazzi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo).
The peloton caught the breakaway over the first ascent of Areitio, with the thinning peloton together over the first of two ascents of the Goiuria.
However, there was a split in the peloton, and a selection was made on the Goiuria with some fifteen riders emerging at the front of the race, including strong climbers Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep), Urška Žigart and Ane Santesteban (Team Jayco AlUla) and Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech Roland).
Moolman-Pasio and Santesteban surged out of the group of favourites on the last ascent of the Goiuria, opening up a small lead with 10km to go.
Steels closed the gap to the two leaders inside the final kilometre, with Moolman-Pasio winning the three-up sprint to the line in Durango
Results powered by FirstCycling
-
Coppa Sabatini: Isaac del Toro surges from three-rider breakaway on uphill charge in Peccioli for victory
Benjamin Thomas second and Ben Granger third as UAE rider scores third victory of the week -
How to watch the Vuelta a España 2025: TV, streaming, official broadcasters
Where to watch the third and final men's Grand Tour of the season from August 23 to September 14 in Spain -
'I felt safe' - Heightened security sees shortened Vuelta a España time trial stage run normally with no major incidents
Pro-Palestine protests take place, but only two arrests in the stage won by Filippo Ganna -
'The best time trial of my life' - Tom Pidcock adds three seconds to Vuelta a España GC gap on podium rival Jai Hindley
Q36.5 leader turning in top performances in battle for best-ever Grand Tour result
