Backing up her fifth place on stage one of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka repeated the feat on stage two, sprinting to the same commendable position.

Although third in the bunch sprint, the day belonged to the powerful duo of Reusser (MOV) and Bjørndal Ottestad [UXM]. They attacked over the summit of the Alto de Cerca Peseta (1.3km at 5.9%), 8km from the line – the most critical point of today’s parcours.

Their advantage quickly stretched to 15 seconds, and a delayed response from the chasing teams left them regretfully out of reach. Agnieszka trailed closely behind Wiebes (SDW) and Balsamo (LTK) in the 27-rider reduced bunch, finishing 18 seconds adrift.

Both fifth places now mark Agnieszka’s best-ever individual finishes in a Women’s WorldTour race, but she is rightly searching for more – as her consistent string of top-level results suggests she’s capable of.

Below, Agnieszka recaps the 122.6 kilometre stage around Aranda de Duero, raced under cloudless skies and with the kind of heat you’d expect from Spain in May. For the most part, it was as orderly as a peloton of over 100 riders can be, despite a large crash that thankfully all CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto riders were able to avoid. After cruising through vineyard-draped landscapes, the race sparked into life on the final 25km finishing circuit.

“The first part was quite easy – a small breakaway went and it was quite relaxed in the peloton. Then, we entered the circuit and the real race started – full gas. The wind was quite strong and UAE tried to split the peloton in one section of crosswinds, but nothing much happened. Then, on the climb, they pulled really hard, and over the top Marlen [Reusser, MOV] went with one other rider. UAE chased with Lidl-Trek and in the end, I tried to sprint as best as I could.”

“Initially, I was only with Antonia in this group, and although I wanted to go for a sprint, Antonia needed to save energy for tomorrow. Chiara came back to our group near the finish, but I didn’t know that she was also in the front with Antonia and me. This was an unfortunate miscommunication.”

“In the sprint, I knew that I needed to start early, earlier than Wiebes and Balsamo, but my acceleration was not enough. I’m still happy with it, but if there was not a breakaway, I could have been third.”

After another accomplished ride from the 28-year-old Polish all-rounder, attention now turns to the mountains, where the team will look to support Antonia Niedermaier. Tomorrow’s stage features Picón Blanco, a Category 1 climb that averages 9.2% and maxes out at 12.5%, a relentless grind with barely a switchback in sight. Topping out at 1500m with sweeping views, the 95km stage may be short, but it promises to be both epic and decisive – laying down a provisional GC hierarchy ahead of Sunday’s final time trial.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Stage 3 | Saturday, May 24 | Soncillo – Picón Blanco | 95.7km | 2045m elevation | Start: 12:50 – Fastest finish: 15:35.

Stage 4 | Sunday, May 25 | Valle de Mena | 9.4km (ITT) | 135m elevation | First rider start: 13:02 – last rider start: 15:32.

Live coverage begins at 14:30 CET each day on RTVE, Eurosport, Discovery Plus, TNT Sports, FloBikes and Proximus. Stay updated on X with #VueltaBurgos, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for the latest team updates.