Jackson very grateful to the team, clever Vas enjoying red jersey: "It wasn't the plan, but the finale suited me well"

She won the second stage of the Vuelta Femenina on Monday afternoon, her joy palpable like that of a child. Alison Jackson, the Canadian champion of EF Education First, emerged victorious in a chaotic sprint. A series of crashes had knocked out several of her competitors. Seizing the moment, Jackson surged from the pack to grab the lead, powering through to maintain her position all the way to the finish line. In a post-race interview, she shared her account of the eventful race day.

The finale was hectic and slippery. "I had a feeling right away that I could win here, even when it started to rain. You have to be mentally strong, go for it, but also be cautious and pay close attention. My teammates were very watchful of me during that part," the winner refers to the chaos in the final two kilometers. "I made the right decisions, which kept me out of the crashes, but just behind them."

Jackson's team brought her back to the front for the sprint: "They are so strong and really went full throttle"

Jackson had to come back, and she really needed her team to help make that happen. "We had to move to the front again and really make up some ground. My teammate is so strong and went full throttle, closed the gap, and it was truly incredible. Then I could go for the win. We've had quite a disappointing spring, with a lot of bad luck in the classics."

"However, you can't control that, and you only have control over what happens next. That was our mindset leading up to the Vuelta. We just really did our best, and I did the same today in the sprint. The team really believed in me. The fact that I managed to win a stage in the Vuelta, a grand tour, is amazing," said the former Paris-Roubaix winner, who, however, will not get to don the leader's jersey. That honor goes to Kata Blanka Vas.

Blanka Vas on "unintended" red jersey: "I actually didn't have good legs"

After the race, Vas shared via the SD Worx-Protime team website that she hadn't initially planned to contend for the red jersey today, given she wasn't feeling her strongest. However, her adept timing and skills allowed her to strategically position herself at the front to capture the bonification seconds. Thanks to these efforts, the young Hungarian now leads the race.

"I didn't have the best legs today, but it was a very technical final that suited me. It wasn't really planned that I would take the bonification seconds, but I was in front for the intermediate sprint so I tried. It's nice to have the red jersey now and it would be nice if we can keep it within the team. The goal is to win this Vuelta Femenina with the team. I'm really happy with the jersey."