The second stage of the four-day stage race in eastern Spain brought the riders from Benicàssim to Nules. With the climbs of the Alto Les Coronetes and the Alto de Salt del Cavall, the peloton anticipated a tough day. Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed itself immediately in the opening phase, Van Agt attacked early. The 27-year-old Dutch rider and her companion got a maximum lead of two minutes from the peloton, after which Van Agt was caught again on the climbs.

De Vries was able to follow the favorites well on the climbs and eventually passed the finish line neatly in the remaining peloton, where Mischa Bredewold sprinted to the day's victory. “We rode well as a team today”, De Vries says. “On the climbs I felt very strong, just like yesterday. In the final of the stage, Rosita and Maud did a really good job and I was able to finish at the front of the peloton. We got through the day well.”

The rider had two good first days in Spain and says that she is feeling good. “I had a strong winter. During the first race of the year, it's always nice to experience that you can ride along with the favorites. Perhaps I can move up a few spots in the general classification this weekend.”

Unfortunately, Margaux Vigié had to abandon the race because she didn't feel well during the stage. Nevertheless, sports director Robby Cobbaert expressed his satisfaction after the second stage. “We wanted to choose the attack and we succeeded with Eva. We executed our plan perfectly today. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that Eva couldn’t hold on to the top. Femke showed that she is in good shape. We go into the weekend with a positive feeling.”

Saturday, all eyes will be focused on Nienke Veenhoven. The young rider hopes to get to sprinting in the finish streets of València in the third stage. “It was a conscious decision to take Nienke with us to Spain. We hope the third stage turns out to be a bunch sprint”, Cobbaert concludes.