In the second stage of the Spanish stage race, the peloton once again faced a number of categorized climbs. Nooijen aimed for a place in the breakaway of the day and attacked early on. The peloton let her go, allowing the Dutchwoman to collect the maximum number of points for the mountain classification unhindered.

With forty kilometers to go, Nooijen was joined by two riders who had made the breakaway from the peloton. The trio worked well together and kept the peloton behind them for a long time. It was only in the last two kilometers that Nooijen and her fellow escapees were caught. In the sprint that followed, Cat Ferguson proved to be the fastest.

"It was a beautiful day. I wanted to attack and see how far I could get. Going so early wasn't quite the plan, but I felt that this was the moment. No one came with me, so I tried to ride hard and controlled. Two girls joined me on the descent after the last climb. It was nice that I didn't have to ride alone in the final stretch."

"The three of us got very far, but in the end I was exhausted. Nevertheless, this gives me a lot of confidence for the coming days and the rest of the spring. The polka dot jersey is a nice bonus, but not the main goal. The most important thing is to keep Viktória in the white jersey. Tomorrow will be a super tough day, but we're going to do everything we can to keep her as high as possible in the rankings."