16th February – Stage 4: Elx – Alacant
The final stage of the Setmana Ciclista offered both breakaway specialists and sprinters a chance at victory. On the last long climb of the day, nine riders broke away and built up a lead of just over two minutes. In a high-speed finale, the peloton reeled them in inside the final kilometer, setting up another sprint showdown, where Elisa Balsamo claimed back-to-back wins. For Team Picnic PostNL, Eleonora Ciabocco finished safely in the bunch, securing her white jersey as the winner of the youth classification.
After the final stage coach Callum Ferguson reflected on the race: “In general, I think it was a good week. Our original plan was to ride for Francesca (Barale), but we ended up focusing on Eleonora for the GC. It’s great that we managed to keep the white jersey, though it’s a bit of a shame that we lost two positions in the GC on the final day. This week brought a lot of positives in terms of personal progression, but there are also areas where we need to keep improving. As a group, we can take a lot away from this race, and I think the white jersey was a nice reward for that.”