Disaster finale for Vos and Visma | Lease a Bike in Vuelta opener — but she still finishes seventh

Noemi Rüegg has won the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina 2026. The EF Education-Oatly Swiss rider was the strongest after 113.9 kilometres from Marín to Salvaterra de Miño, in a tough, hilly stage through Galicia. Lotte Kopecky finished second for SD Worx-Protime, while Franziska Koch was third for FDJ-SUEZ.

The opening day was no simple sprinters' stage. The route included 1,827 metres of climbing, two categorised ascents and a finishing kilometre that rose at over 3 per cent. As a result, the peloton largely stayed together for much of the day.

Rain in Galicia made the racing more nervous, particularly on the descents and in the build-up to the finale. Movistar, Visma | Lease a Bike, EF Education-Oatly and FDJ-SUEZ were all prominent near the front.

There was already a battle for the first mountain points on the climbs. Maëva Squiban (UAE) took the maximum haul on the Alto do Cruceiro, while Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal) claimed the points on the second ascent. Squiban will wear the mountains jersey on Monday.

The pace on the climbs and the wet conditions whittled down the peloton, but the main names stayed near the front. Heading into the intermediate sprint, FDJ-SUEZ played the Koch card, with Eva van Agt doing the preparatory work — and Koch taking the bonus seconds.

In the finale everything came back together for a sprint from a reduced group. Marianne Vos and Lotte Kopecky had been the obvious names for a finish like this, but Vos went down on a descent 8.5 kilometres from the finish. Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) also crashed.

Vos, who impressively made it back to the front group, no longer had the legs to contest the win in the sharp sprint. She finished seventh, some way behind Rüegg, who powered away from Kopecky and Koch in impressive fashion. The Swiss rider also becomes the first leader of this Vuelta.