Soraya Paladin took valuable seconds in the general classification on the opening stage of the Simac Ladies Tour today in Lelystad, the Netherlands. Soraya passed a large crash in the peloton and found herself in a 21-rider lead group with around 70km remaining. The group stayed clear and sprinted to the line, and while Lorena Wiebes took the victory and first leader jersey, Soraya sprinted to seventh place.

“I was close to the front when the crash happened but could go on the grass and avoid it. I’m sad for Shari, who’s now out of the race, and Alice also came down hard,” said Soraya.

“In the final, I planned to follow the lead out of Jumbo. When Chantal (van der Broek-Blaak) attacked with 1km to go, there was a bit of chaos, and I lost my position. I would have preferred to enter the last corner further forward, but a top 10 is still good today.”

Soraya is now eighth in the general classification at +11 behind Wiebes but gained 49 seconds on many other GC contenders.

“In this stage race, it’s always good to gain some seconds as you never know what can happen each day. We need to stay focused in the race as we did today,” added Soraya.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The Simac Ladies Tour can be followed on Twitter with #SLT2022 and is broadcast on GCN, Eurosport and Ziggo Sport.

Stage 2 | Wednesday 31 August | 117.8km | Ede | Race start 13:00CEST | Broadcast 14:45CEST

Stage 3 | Thursday 1 September | 139.1km | Gennep | Race start 12:15CEST | Broadcast 14:45CEST

Stage 4 | Friday 2 September | 135.2km | Landgraaf | Race start 12:00CEST | Broadcast 14:45CEST

Stage 5 | Saturday 3 September | 17.8km ITT | Sittard – Beekdaalen | First rider 11:45CEST | Broadcast 11:45CEST

Stage 6 | Sunday 4 September | 150.3km | Arnhem | Race start 10:00CEST | Broadcast 11:45CEST

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