Sprinter Silvia Zanardi claimed her first Women’s WorldTour top-ten of 2026, scoring tenth place on stage 5 of the Vuelta a España Femenina from León to Astorga.
In wet conditions at the end of the 119.6 km stage, the 26-year-old sprinted as part of the finishing pack on a final 300-meter at 4.5% kicker to collect the team’s third WorldTour top-ten of the year so far.
“I feel super happy with that,” Zanardi said at the finish. “I’m proud of my teammates, because they did a really good job and brought me to a good position for the finish.”
With the roads slick due to a late downpour, all of the team’s athletes navigated a crash inside the finale, with Zanardi set up by a strong team effort, with the squad at the head of the action for much of the day. Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx – Protime) came away as the stage winner.
“The weather was not with us today, and then in the last four kilometers it started to rain again,” she explains. “Of course, the girls in the peloton are then more tense and scared, and it’s more stressful. There was chaos in the final roundabout, but I tried to stay in a good wheel to take the kick a little bit more in front. I lost some position, but in the end, I finished in the top 10.”
The result is a confidence boost for the Italian sprinter heading into the summer months.
“This was the first top-10 for me this year, and WorldTour, so I’m super happy,” she ended.
Elsewhere, in the battle for the general classification, climber Barbara Malcotti came home safe and is 32 seconds off the red jersey going into the mountains.
Next, it’s the beginning of the crucial weekend, with the GC truly being settled on Friday’s 3.9 km at 12.6% Les Praeres climb, followed by the mighty 12.1 km at 10.3% L’Angliru on Saturday.
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Vuelta España Femenina stage 5 results
1 BREDEWOLD Mischa (Team SD Worx – Protime) 2:54:07
2 KOPECKY Lotte (Team SD Worx – Protime) ”
3 PATERNOSTER Letizia (Liv AlUla Jayco) ”
4 SKALNIAK-SÓJKA Agnieszka (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) ”
5 BOSSUYT Shari (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) ”
6 JASTRAB Megan (UAE Team ADQ) ”
7 KOCH Franziska (FDJ United – SUEZ) ”
8 NIEWIADOMA Kasia (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) ”
9 ADEGEEST Loes (Lidl – Trek) ”
10 ZANARDI Silvia (Human Powered Health) ”
Stage gallery
Photos: GettySport and Oskar Scarsbrook
