Tiago Ferreira and Naima Madlen win La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli

The Portuguese rider and the German dominated the race from start to finish with confidence

Tiago Ferreira (DMT Racing Team by Marconi), in the men's category, and Naima Madlen (Tuspo Weende E.V - ISB Cycling), in the women's category, were the winners of the seventh edition of La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli. The Portuguese and the German have been the clear dominators of the race, after three days of pure mountain biking on the trails of La Rioja.

On the final day, Tiago Ferreira controlled the whole final stage. At the first checkpoint, unlike the previous days, Ferreira passed with a group of three riders formed with his teammates Wout Alleman (DMT Racing Team by Marconi) and Andreas Miltiadis (DMT Racing Team by Marconi). But nothing threatened the overall classification of the Portuguese rider. In fact, when it came to the last climb of the day, only Alleman kept pace with him.

On the last descent, the two team-mates of the DMT Racing Team by Marconi managed the advantage perfectly and reached the finish line together. Ferreira, who already had the overall in his pocket, handed over the stage victory to Wout Alleman in a nice gesture. So, Tiago Ferreira won the overall of La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli. He was joined on the podium by his teammates Wout Alleman and Andreas Miltiadis, second and third respectively.

It is the first time that Ferreira has been proclaimed champion of the Rioja race. With the leader's jersey and trophy, he said: "It was my first participation in La Rioja and I liked the race very much because all the stages are very complete. Personally, I am very happy with the result. I managed to win two stages, the overall... and I was very good physically".

In the women's category, Naima Madlen suffered more than necessary to win the overall due to mechanical problems on the last descent. The stage started with Agnieta Francke (Independent) pulling the group and with good sensations, which allowed her to drop her pursuers and ride the stage alone. Francke was third in the general classification at more than eight minutes and in principle was no danger to Madlen.

But things tightened up on the final descent, as Naima Madlen suffered two punctures: one on the front wheel and the other on the rear, which forced her to repair the damage and lose time. In the end, she was able to reach the finish almost seven minutes behind Francke, who came in first, a sufficient margin to keep the leader's jersey and win La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli.

In this way, Naima Madlen has climbed to the top of the final podium, followed by Sílvia Roura (BMC Tbellès by Kalas) and Agnieta Francke. Naima Madlen was very happy with her victory in Logroño: "After the technical problems, which are part of the game, I managed to pull through. I am happy to have kept the margin and I was confident that I could do it. The victory makes me very happy. It means a lot to me. It shows me that I'm doing well. I'm very grateful for the whole experience.

With the victories of Tiago Ferreira and Naima Madlen, the 2021 La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli, which has had 600 participants and has left many moments to remember, comes to an end.

FINISHER STAGE - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Men's
02:21:18 Wout Alleman DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI
02:21:18 Tiago Ferreira DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI
02:22:16 Andreas Miltiadis DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

GENERAL Classification - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Women
07:46:30 Tiago Ferreira DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI
07:49:15 Wout Alleman DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI
08:00:27 Andreas Miltiadis DMT RACING TEAM BY MARCONI

Standings FINISHER STAGE - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Women
03:04:00 Agnieta Francke INDEPENDENT
03:10:57 Naima Madlen TUSPO WEENDE E.V
03:11:15 Sílvia Roura BMC TBELLÈS BY KALAS

GENERAL Classification - La Rioja Bike Race presented by Pirelli - Elite Women
10:29:19 Naima Madlen TUSPO WEENDE E.V
10:30:40 Sílvia Roura BMC TBELLÈS BY KALAS
10:31:17 Agnieta Francke INDEPENDENT