Thalita de Jong continued her strong early-season form, sprinting to fourth in the opening stage of Setmana Ciclista Valenciana in Spain.
The 32-year-old was part of a select group chasing solo winner Demi Vollering (FDJ United – SUEZ) into Gandia on the 120 km long stage. The result means de Jong has now placed seventh or better in four of her five race days in 2026.
“I’m happy but with a tinge of disappointment, fourth instead of third, but in the end it’s good,” de Jong said afterwards. “I could keep up with good climbers at the end, so that gives me positivity and confidence towards the next days.”
The springboard of the stage was the 6 km at 4.7% Alto de Barx climb, where de Jong made her way into the chasing second group, behind three attackers. The subsequent plateau and descent into Gandia reeled in a chasing duo with a nine-rider group contesting the final podium places.
“The pace was very high towards the climbs, and it was important to be in front on the downhill before,” de Jong explains. “I could hold the pace in the second group, so I’m happy about that performance.”
An early crash at the Vuelta CV Feminas resulted in a fractured pinky finger and impacted her ability to push the power in that race, but there were no such issues here. A testament to her strong recovery and the expertise of the support staff.
“Today I can push again,” she says joyfully. “I could feel my finger with the braking on the downhills and had to modulate, but I could push how I like to, so that’s good.”
Early teamwork and shelter were particularly important on stage 1, where the opening 10 kilometers were neutralised due to strong winds.
“These roads are so big that it can be hard to stay together, so it was important to have them in a hectic crosswind beginning,” she says. “We made a small mistake at a roundabout on the wrong side at one point, but we all came back luckily, so you see how important teammates are in these moments.”
Tomorrow’s stage begins with a trio of climbs, but a 50 kilometer due-downhill run to Villa-Real means it will likely end in a bunch sprint.
Stage 2 will be live on the RD3 Events Deportivos YouTube channel.
Setmana Ciclista Valenciana stage 1 results
1 VOLLERING Demi – FDJ United – SUEZ 2:54:59
2 SQUIBAN Maeva – UAE Team ADQ 0:42
3 CHLADOŇOVÁ Viktória – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
4 DE JONG Thalita – Human Powered Health ”
5 OTTESTAD Mie Bjørndal – Uno-X Mobility ”
6 KERBAOL Cédrine – EF Education-Oatly ”
7 REIJNHOUT Rosita – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
8 CLAES Lotte – Fenix-Premier Tech ”
9 VALLIERES Magdeleine – EF Education-Oatly ”
10 NIEDERMAIER Antonia – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto ”
Photos: GettySport
