This Sunday, the first stage of the 2026 Tour of El Salvador took place, an urban circuit called Flor Blanca, covering approximately 69.1 kilometers between Bulevar de los Héroes, 25 Avenida Norte, and Sexta-Décima Calle Poniente.
The winner of this stage was Dutch cyclist Marjolein Van ‘t Geloof of the Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi team. The 29-year-old finished the race with a time of 1:54:20.
Second place in the stage went to Spaniard Ainara Albert Bosch, and third place to Russian Anastasiya Samsonova, both from the Cogeas Roland team.
“The last 150 meters were the most difficult. The team did a great job. We had some bad luck with a few crashes and punctures, but we stayed calm and controlled the race from start to finish. For me, it was just a matter of keeping the pace and sprinting. I felt great and I’m very happy to have finished it off,” Van ‘t Geloof told Radio YSKL.
Meanwhile, Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi’s sporting director, Peio Goikoetxea, highlighted the performance of his riders, despite the difficulties encountered during the race.
“The team did their job well in the end; Yulia (Biriukova), Idoia (Erasoe) were superb, and Marjo (Van ‘t Geloof) finished it off. That was our goal today. Second day, second victory, and we’ll have more opportunities ahead, so we’re happy,” he told the Basque media outlet Naiz.
María Rivera, of Team Santa Ana, was the highest-placed Salvadoran, finishing the circuit in 75th place out of 89 cyclists who completed the race.
Albert Bosch, overall leader
In the Tour’s overall standings, Ainara Albert Bosch leads the standings after the second day of competition, following Saturday’s prologue in the historic center of San Salvador. Van ‘t Geloof is in second place, and Italian Giorgia Vettorello, of the Cogeas Roland team, is in third.
“I’m very happy to have won the jersey. I’ve already achieved a second-place finish, but I still need to seal the deal. The team is spectacular. Today (Sunday) we worked very well, and I hope to continue like this and finish strong in a stage,” she commented after receiving the yellow jersey as the Tour leader.
Rivera, from El Salvador, is also currently in 75th place in the overall standings of the 2026 Tour El Salvador.
This Monday, the action continues with Stage 2 on the Surf City-Sonsonate circuit, starting at 9:00 a.m. The 91-kilometer route will begin at the bypass on the road to Surf City and finish on Acaxual Street in the district of Sonsonate.
The event is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), is a Category 1 race for women, and will award 4,500 points toward the world ranking. A total of 18 teams from 12 countries are competing in the event. Among the represented nations are Switzerland, China, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Russia, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador, among others.
Source: La Prensa Gráfica