Tiago Ferreira and Naima Madlen repeat victory and become leaders again

Ferreira has won again riding solo and Madlen has won in the sprint

Repetition of the script in the Nissan Super Stage. Tiago Ferreira (DMT Racing Team by Marconi), in the men's category, and Naima Madlen (Tuspo Weende E.V), in the women's category, have won again in Logroño and are more leaders of La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli with only one stage to go.

As he did yesterday, the Portuguese has won alone after a very solid race, while the German has suffered a little bit more to overcome Sílvia Roura (BMC TBellès by Kalas) in a very disputed stage between the two riders that has been decided in the final sprint.

Aware of the two long and steep climbs ahead, Tiago Ferreira once again put on an exhibition and set his pace from the very first stages. At the first checkpoint at kilometre 15, he was already riding alone with a lead of almost three minutes over his team-mate Wout Alleman. Another monologue from the Portuguese rider, who managed his lead to perfection and was able to enjoy the trails on the Senda de Las Ruinas.

The DMT Racing Team by Marconi was once again the protagonist, taking the first three places on the podium with Ferreira, Wout Alleman and today, in third position, the young Vinzent Dorn.

After the victory, Ferreira explained how he experienced the stage: "Physically I was very good, and I knew that the stage would be technical and that I had a long climb ahead where I could get more time and advantage. My team-mates attacked and tried to push the pace, but they couldn't catch me. In the end, I decided to attack and go solo. On the climbs, I decided to push hard so as not to take any risks on the downhills, so I achieved my objective for the day, which was to stay in the lead".

In the women's category, things have changed a bit compared to Stage 1. Not in the final result but in the form. Throughout the stage, Naima Madlen and Sílvia Roura exchanged positions, pulling together to open up as much of a gap as possible. But neither of them managed to leave the other behind. Madlen pushed hard on the climbs, while Roura did the same on the descents.

In this way, the two of them arrived together in the final metres and the victory was decided in a sprint just in front of the Palacio de los Deportes de La Rioja. Madlen has launched it before and has closed the gap in the last turn. With this result, everything is open for tomorrow as only 1 minute and 4 seconds separate them. Excitement is high.

"Today's stage has been a challenge because it has been hard because in the first points of the stage we have found the terrain with loose stones. Silvia worked very well and at the end of the stage we had a nice and disputed fight to win the stage in a final sprint. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's stage and enjoy it as much as today's", said Naima Madlen at the finish line.

Tomorrow's final stage, the Finisher Stage, will be the most dynamic and explosive stage of all with 58 kilometres and a 1,384-kilometre climb.

Standings NISSAN SUPER STAGE - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Male

02:39:41 Tiago Ferreira DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

02:40:56 Wout Alleman DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

02:46:04 Vinzent Dorn DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

GENERAL Classification - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Women

05:25:12 Tiago Ferreira DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

05:27:57 Wout Alleman DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

05:38:10 Andreas Miltiadis DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

Standings NISSAN SUPER STAGE - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Women's Elite

03:35:36 Naima Madlen TUSPO WEENDE E.V

03:35:37 Sílvia Roura BMC TBELLÈS BY KALAS