Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) won stage 1 of the Vuelta Femenina to take the first red leader's jersey of the 2026 edition. On an uphill finish in Salvaterra de Miño, Rüegg launched her sprint with 175 metres to go and held off Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez) to win the stage. Most of the stage was uneventful, but a hairpin turn and technical descent in the last 10km caused crashes that split the peloton, leading to a high-speed run-in to the finish, where Rüegg was fastest. Article continues below “I can’t really believe it. It’s just a dream to win a Grand Tour stage. The team believed in me so much, more than I did. It was a big goal to go for the win, it’s insane to finish it off like this, I don’t know what to say,” said Rüegg , overwhelmed by her victory. “It was a hectic day because it was raining from the start. The descents were really tricky and slippery.…