New leader of La Vuelta Femenina Letizia Paternoster gets emotional: "Being in the leader jersey feels amazing"

Marianne Vos may have won the second stage of La Vuelta Femenina, but after a horror team time trial of Visma the day earlier, it's today's runner-up Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) who claims the overall lead. And it's not an exaggeration to say she may have been happier than winner Vos...

"Being in the leader jersey feels amazing. I’m a little bit emotional," Paternoster struggles to find the right words to express her feelings after taking on the red jersey. "I’m happy for me and for the team, because all the people I have around really deserve this. I finally feel really good, mentally and physically, and that’s the best thing that can happen."

That the ways of destiny are unfathomable she knows the best since the 25-year-old Italian wasn't even originally scheduled to race in Spain. "It was not in the plan to participate in La Vuelta Femenina, but then in the Ardennes my team and I decided that it was a good idea to come here," she explains the change of plans. I said before the start that I wanted to enjoy the race and do my best from the team time trial, on which I could be a good support for our GC riders."

"I felt really good after yesterday’s stage," Paternoster adds. That motivated her to give it her best in a stage with slightly uphill arrival to Sant Boi de Llobregat. "I wanted to try and win it because I saw the final and I felt it could really suit me."

"It was a hard stage. I tried to attack on the descent, as it was quite technical and I like riding downhill. The final was tricky and dangerous, as it was really wet. Marianne Vos was better than me in the last corner and it was impossible to net the victory. This second place was the most that I could achieve today. But afterwards they told me I was in the Red Jersey, and it was a big emotion for me."