Ina Teutenberg (Specialized-lululemon) won the opening stage of the 2012 Emakumeen Euskal Bira, between Iurreta and Matiena, in northwestern Spain, at the end of a largely uneventful 97.1km. The German champion was delivered to the line by her team’s lead out train, and finished several lengths clear of Chongming Island World Cup winner Shelley Olds (AA Drink-Leontien.nl). Teutenberg’s final lead out Trixi Worrack held on to take third place, ahead of 2011 World Cup winner Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabobank) as the rain that fell on the closing kilometres made the finish slippery.
“It's obviously a great way to start the Tour,” said Teutenberg afterwards. “We were all looking forward to a solid four days of racing here and so far it's going well.
“The final sprint was technical and wet and pretty scary,” she added, “but the girls led me perfectly into it with Trixi doing another perfect final leadout.”
There were several attempts to escape the peloton, but none was successful in creating a meaningful breakaway. Anna Bianca Schnitzmeier (Germany) managed to get clear for a few kilometres in the first part of the stage, but was soon back in the fold as the strong teams kept the race under control.
The wet conditions in the finale caused a small split in the peloton however, causing a number of riders - including the previous day’s Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria winner Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) to lose a few seconds on the line.
Teutenberg took the first yellow jersey of the race but, since there were no time bonuses for her stage victory, the 44 riders that arrived ahead of the split in the peloton were all on the same time heading into stage two.
Result stage 1
1. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
2. Shelley Olds (USA) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
3. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Stichting Rabo Women
5. Martine Bras (Ned) Dolmans-Boels
6. Amy Pieters (Ned) Skil-Koga
7. Alena Amialyusik (Blr) Be Pink
8. Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
9. Edita Janeliunaite (Ltu) Diadora-Pasta Zara
10. Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Fra) Hitec Products-Mistral Home
Standings after stage 1
1. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
2. Shelley Olds (USA) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
3. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Stichting Rabo Women
5. Martine Bras (Ned) Dolmans-Boels
6. Amy Pieters (Ned) Skil-Koga
7. Alena Amialyusik (Blr) Be Pink
8. Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
9. Edita Janeliunaite (Ltu) Diadora-Pasta Zara
10. Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Fra) Hitec Products-Mistral Home