Bredewold wins opening stage in the Basque Country, after descent where Vingegaard fell

NOS Cycling•today, 1:33 PM

Mischa Bredewold has won the first stage in the Tour of the Basque Country. The Dutch European champion of Team SD Worx – Protime stayed ahead of her teammate Demi Vollering in the sprint of a group of around seventy riders.

Vollering took the lead-out for her teammate and rode to third place herself. In addition to the 23-year-old Bredewold, she also had to pass the Cuban Arlenis Sierra. For Vollering it was her first performance since she won the Tour of Spain on Sunday.

The three-day race in the Basque Country is part of the WorldTour for the third year. Of the previous six stages, no fewer than five were won by Vollering. She took the overall victory in 2021. Last year the top prize went to her Swiss teammate Marlen Reusser, who won the final stage.

In the opening stage of this year, the riders rode the descent of the Olaeta. Last month, a serious crash occurred on the same road in the Tour of the Basque Country for men, with Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic as the main victims.

Heavy crash in the Basque Country: Vingegaard in ambulance, Roglic and Evenepoel also down

The Dane Vingegaard suffered several broken bones and was only back on the bike for the first time this week. It is still uncertain whether the two-time winner of the Tour de France can participate in the Tour this year.

The women came down unscathed. Not much later, a leading group of two emerged: the Norwegian Stine Dale and the Austrian Valentina Cavallar. The duo was caught by the peloton with 18 kilometers to go. Reusser and Vollering then sprinted for their teammate Bredewold.

Thanks to the victory of the Amersfoort rider, SD Worx has now won all seven stages that have ever been ridden in the two-year-old Tour of the Basque Country.