The 2026 Vuelta Femenina completely skipped the traditional team time trial and threw the peloton straight into a miserable, rainy 113-kilometer Galician sufferfest. A highly technical, crash-marred descent with eight kilometers to go completely shattered the bunch, leaving a reduced group of nervous favorites to fight for the first red jersey in Salvaterra de Miño.
While SD Worx-Protime and FDJ United-Suez scrambled to organize their heavyweights in the slick conditions, EF Education-Oatly quietly delivered 25-year-old Swiss rider Noemi Rüegg to the final corner in flawless position. Knowing you absolutely cannot give Lotte Kopecky time to wind up, Rüegg launched a massive, high-risk sprint from 175 meters out and caught the favorites completely flat-footed. She held her power all the way to the line, upsetting Kopecky and Franziska Koch by over a full bike length to claim the biggest WorldTour victory of her career.
Results
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