Wednesday was an excellent day for the Swiss Roland team in El Salvador, as the women’s World Tour squad took the top three positions in the Grand Prix Presidente 2024 with Switzerland’s Elena Hartmann at the top, Italy’s Giorgia Vettorello in second and Russia’s Tamara Dronova on the third step of the podium.
Like the Grand Prix El Salvador, held on Tuesday, the starting point was the Plaza Salvador del Mundo and the finish line was in Juayúa, being 112 kilometers of trajectory.
After leaving the Plaza Salvador del Mundo, the peloton had to go through the monument to the Constitution, towards the Plaza Monseñor Romero in Quezaltepeque, to pass the Redondel Claudia Lars and reach the bridge El Congo. The route was characterized by the height of the following points of the route, which includes the Gerardo Barrios traffic circle, Los Naranjos and Juayúa.
The Grand Prix winner finished the competition with a time of 02:50:01. “I am very, very, happy to have won. I think everyone expected me to win, so I’m happy to have fulfilled everyone else’s wish,” said Elena Hartmann.
The cyclist was initially unaware that she had a big lead over the other competitors, but when she circled the last eight kilometers she knew that no one would catch her.
“I was very confident from the beginning and in my mind I knew I would win, so for me it was amazing. When I was at the top of the slope I knew no one would catch me anymore, so the last eight kilometers, for me, were to enjoy it and that’s the best feeling,” she said.
Unlike Tuesday’s Grand Prix, only 94 cyclists participated. According to the president of the organizing committee of the Tour El Salvador, Rubén Contreras, the Salvadoran Iris Bolaños, from the Maca – Electrolit team, did not participate due to the death of her mother.
In addition, during the race, there was an accident. Olympic gold medalist Anna Kiesenhofer, from the Roland team, collided with a retaining wall and with cyclist Sharon Ramirez, from Team Bioracer CR- Zepol Muscular.
According to the official broadcast of the competition, Kisenhofee was taken to a hospital and a possible fracture was ruled out. The team confirmed that, despite some minor bumps, the athlete is fine.
On Thursday there will be a rest day and the competition resumes on Friday night with the prologue of the Vuelta Ciclista, a race against the clock that will start and finish at the Palacio de los Deportes del INDES.
Grand Prix Presidente (1.1)
Results San Salvador – Juayúa (104 km)
| 1 | Elena Hartmann | Roland | 2:50:01 |
| 2 | Giorgia Vettorello | Roland | 2:18 |
| 3 | Tamara Dronova | Roland | 2:19 |
| 4 | Angela Oro | BePink-Bongioanni | 2:19 |
| 5 | Karen Villamizar *Colombia | Boneshaker Project p/b Roxo | 2:19 |
| 6 | Marcela Prieto | Pato Bike BMC Team | 2:19 |
| 7 | Andrea Alzate *Colombia | Eneicat-CM Team | 2:19 |
| 8 | Andrea Ramírez | Boneshaker Project p/b Roxo | 2:19 |
| 9 | Antri Christoforou | Roland | 2:23 |
| 10 | Natalia Franco *Colombia | Eneicat-CM Team | 2:25 |