Elise Chabbey and FDJ-Suez dominate the Volta from day one
June 6 th 2025 - 19:55 [GMT + 2]
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya has started its 2nd edition with a strong statement of intent from the very first day. Swiss rider Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) took the stage victory in Reus and is the first leader after finishing off a long breakaway in which she was the protagonist together with her teammate Demi Vollering, the great favorite for tomorrow's finish at the Coll de Pal, and Basque rider Ane Sant.
The 2nd women's edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya got underway on Friday 6 June with a peloton of 112 international riders competing in the first stage of 114.4 kilometres between El Perelló and Reus. A leg-breaking day that linked Terres de l'Ebre and Camp de Tarragona with the climbs to Coll de Porrera and Coll d'Alforja (2nd category), which offered an important declaration of intentions of the great favorite for the final victory.
The first breakaway attempt of the day was by American Allison Mrugal (Cynisca Cycling) and Paraguayan Agua Maria Espinola (Team Farto-Kiroot), in a move that was cancelled before the first 30 kilometres of the stage. It was a fast start to the race, with the first hour at 42km/h average speed, which was completed after the intermediate sprint in Falset, with the arrival of the mountain passes, with the main protagonist being the big favorites for the final victory.
With 50 kilometers to go to the finish, on the climb to the Coll de Porrera, the movements began with an attack from the peloton by Swiss rider Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), who ended up forming a group of more than ten riders. Finally, when this breakaway had a thirty-second lead, from the main group, teammate Demi Vollering, the race's number one rider who arrived at the start of the Catalan race after winning La Vuelta Femenina and the Itzulia Women, changed the pace and quickly stood out and reached the head of the race, where only her teammate Chabbey and Basque rider Ane Santesteban (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) were able to follow her. The three riders held on for around fifty kilometers and arrived together at the final approach to Reus, which would decide the first leadership of the Volta a Catalunya.
With 1.5 kilometers to go, Chabbey made a change of pace that Santesteban was unable to follow, while Vollering let her teammate take the glory, celebrating a solo stage victory at professional level that she had not achieved since 2021. Vollering and at 1 Femke de Vries (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) were 6 and 7 seconds behind and a group with the rest of the favourites arrived at 1:53.
The Volta a Catalunya will continue this Saturday with the mountain stage: a 72.9 kilometre route with three mountain passes and a high altitude finish at the dreaded Coll de Pal (special category), dominated by La Molina, which the FDJ-Suez team led by Demi Vollering will face at the head of the general classification.
