Greta Marturano claimed an impressive win in the second round of the day of the Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina, securing victory in Stage 1B (90.1 km from Mérida to Cáceres). The Italian rider delivered a courageous performance, attacking early and eventually outpacing her breakaway companion Sigrid Haugset (Team Coop – Repsol). This marks Marturano’s first-ever Elite victory, confirming her strong start to the season after a promising debut in Australia with her new UAE Team ADQ jersey.
Reflecting on her race, Marturano said:“After the morning time trial, our strategy was to support the team leaders. My goal was to go for the KOM, and I found myself in a breakaway with another rider. We worked well together, pushed hard, and at some point, I realized we had a real chance to make it to the finish. From there, we gave everything. I’m really happy with this victory.”
In addition to her stage win, Marturano was also awarded the Most Combative Rider prize and took the lead in the Points Classification. She now moves up to third place in the General Classification, just 19 seconds behind leader Ellen Van Dijk (Lidl – Trek), who had won the morning time trial (Stage 1A, Mérida-Mérida, 9.1 km).
It was a strong team performance from UAE Team ADQ, with Maeva Squiban taking the QOM and Sprint classifications, while Paula Blasi was the best Spanish rider in both stages.
The Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina will continue over the next two days with two more decisive stages.
(ph. @vueltaextremadura)
