Return Spain Women: the female tour paralyzes the center of Barcelona in its first phase with Victoria of the Lidl-Trek in the time trial | CICLING | Sport

The center of Barcelona closed to observe them. Around it, all fenced – “the passion that unites us”, could be read in some barriers -, surrounded by architectural and urban Catalan emblems such as the Pedrera or Giardini del Palacio de Pedralbes and the transit and closure of the large arteries of the city – a transit, another spot – as is a diagonal and Passeig. Only and exclusively for female cycling in the first of the seven phases of 2025 female Return which will last until Saturday 10 May and will end up in Astuias. In Barcelona, ​​where the great Départ of the Tour de France will be hosted in 2026, everything stopped to see them this Sunday. Above all, for them: Lidl-Trek Team Cyclists (9m 30s), Winners of the first phase and with the veteran Dutch counter -control Ellen Van Dijk as the first leader of the Spanish round and carrier of the sweater Rojo.

Behind, the SD World-Protime (9m 33s) and the Liv-Alula-Jayco (9m 33s), with the Mavi García-Spanish of the ten national corridors completed the podium In a phase which has been resolved by minimal differences. In fourth place, six seconds compared to the Lidl teams, the FDJ-Suez team, with the current competition champion, Demi Vollering. Closing the first from five to eight seconds of the first place eLidl-Trek and DSM, the two teams that are trampolines looking for a tie in cycling

The Canyon-Sram-Zondacontipto set by Katarzyna Nieveiadoma, one of the main Vollering rivals this year. Of the three Spanish teams – Movistar Team, Work Kutxa – Euskadi and Eneicat -Cmteam – Movistar, Movistar was the one that started with the best foot, with a seventh place 16 seconds of the main team.Lidl-Trek and DSM, the two teams that are trampolines looking for a tie in cycling

The Counterreloj, explosive and with a speed of about 50 km/h, began and closed with the pedrera in the background, in which tourists were crowded to take photos, unaware of what happened around them. One of the 21 teams that played the competition was shot every three minutes. The first does not fall from 10 minutes in the 8.1 kilometers of the route, not very technical, but of great concentration, with almost no curve, although with a turning point of 180 degrees to travel on diagonal and return to Passeig de Gestia where there was a fall of the Italian victory Vittoria Guazzini towards the last minutes of the stage.

With the dawn, more and more fans, some cyclists with theirs sweaterAnd even curious, they gathered to see the runners and encourage them. “It’s very important and exciting to see what they come to visit us boys and girls. Because we can be referents of a future job for them. It is nice that they can come to encourage us, to see that they will not be limited to being girls, “said Mireia Benito, Catalan broker, in the presentation of the teams this Saturday.

The cyclists passed since being the tarpaulins of the male competition to be the main star in the tour, who already has his life, has been professional and the best runners in the world are already participating. When the competition began in 2015 and during the first three years, the race was played in an urban circuit in the center of Madrid, coinciding with the last phase of the male return. Starting from 2018, the race started expanding, adding phases progressively until the community of Madrid finally leaves. In 2023 he ended up consolidating himself as a large round of seven stadiums – eight last year – emancipated by the male.

This year, after the starting gun, the next phase will continue in Catalonia, between Molins de Rei and Sant Boi de Llobregat. Tuesday from Barbastro to Hueca, they will continue on Wednesday from Aragona and Thursday will come to an end of the promotion phase in Los Lagunas de Neila, in Burgos. On Friday they will cross the province of Palencia, and on Saturday the race will end with the phase of Reina in Astuias, passing through the ports of La Colladona, Colladiella and finally Cotobello, where the Vuelta champion will be crowned. In total, 748 quilometers distributed in these seven phases that cover the northern part of Spain by four autonomous communities and which mark the progress of female cycling.