Alice Maria Arzuffi climbs to 12th on stage one Itzulia Women 2023

A day of torrential rain and flooding in the Basque Country made for difficult racing for the peloton.

Alice Maria Arzuffi said at the finish, "I really dislike racing in the rain, so I tried to ride at the front as much as I could during the day to stay as safe as possible and avoid any crashes. To be honest, I didn't feel like I had the best legs until around halfway through the race but I never do when I race in the rain! I'm super thankful to Sandra (Alonso) and Laura (Asencio) who helped me as much as they could so that I could arrive at the decisive climb at the front. The pace was immediately difficult and I had to ride the whole final climb to my own tempo, but I caught some riders on the descent and managed to sprint for 12th. Today's result gives me confidence and I'm looking forward to trying to get the best result possible on GC. I'm just sorry for Nina and Lana who crashed and had to abandon*."

*Medical update for Nina Berton can be found here.