Published September 11, 2022 12:32PM
Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta: Balsamo wins final stage, Van Vleuten takes overall
World champion takes victory in final race in rainbow jersey.
This story first appeared on VeloNews.com.
World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) sprinted to victory on the final stage of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, proving the fastest after 17 laps of the Madrid circuit.
After a long lead-out from SD Worx, Lotte Kopecky took second, with Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) rounding out the podium.
Red jersey Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) finished safely in the bunch to seal her second consecutive overall victory at the Ceratizit Challenge after winning the Queen stage by two minutes on Thursday.
A four-rider breakaway of Sara Poidevin (EF Educaction-TIBCO-SVB), Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT), Nina Buijsman (Human Powered Health) and Carlijn Achtereekte (Jumbo Visma) was away for the majority of the stage, but was brought back 10km from the finish.