Grace Brown pockets 2021 Vuelta a Burgos Feminas uphill opener

Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) won stage 1 of the 2021 Vuelta a Burgos Feminas.

The Australian was the best in an uphill sprint, getting her wheel across the line ahead of Elise Chabbey (Canyon–SRAM) and Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx).

“I could still see we had a gap so I was a bit worried that if we played too many games with the three of us we wouldn’t keep the gap until the end and the bunch would come over the top of us,” Brown said. “I knew I couldn’t wait too late with my sprint, which is why I led it out.”

The opening 100-kilometer stage took place between Villadiego and Sargentes de la Lora, with the final 12 kilometers or so gaining elevation.

Grace, Chabbey, and Fisher-Black went all-in in the final six kilometers and gained 10 seconds. Behind them, AR Monex Women’s Team did everything to put the super-fast Cuban Arlenis Sierra into contention.

“I was a bit concerned that the other two weren’t working and that I was doing the majority of it. I knew on a normal day if we were pulling equal terms that I could win the sprint. I was unsure if I had done too much. So I was relieved to win it,” said Brown.

🏆 As winner of Stage 1, @GLBrown321 of course also claimed the lead in the General Classification of the #VueltaBurgos today for @GreenEDGEteam. #BurgosFem #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/vNZ466pmcW

— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) May 20, 2021

The four-day stage race in Spain had an influx of top talent for this edition, with Anna van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Katarzyna Niewiadoma all on the startlist.

Brown said the team’s tactics were to split the favorites in crosswinds, and then attack any remaining favorites in the final uphill section.

“We had a team plan where we wanted to first try to split the race in the crosswinds. Our team worked really well to do that, the peloton split there, and it put a lot of teams under pressure and hurt the legs a little bit before coming into the finale,” Brown said.

“I came into this race feeling pretty good after the last Spanish races, so I was confident that if the race played out as we planned, then I should have a good chance of winning today,” Brown commented. “It felt really hard after I attacked so you’re never sure especially when the gap is quite small. I kept going until the end, and tried in the sprint.”