In El Salvador, amidst the European classics race season, Petra Stiasny shone in a challenging mountain time-trial. Dominating a 9.1 km ascent up Calle El Volcán, she secured her first professional win
While the race season in Europe is currently in the classics race phase and Spanish stage races are still a month away, El Salvador hosted a mountain time-trial featuring World Tour teams Ceratizit and Roland, as well as Laboral Kutxa Pro Team, who are keen to collect UCI points in the Latin American races. The uphill time-trial took place on a challenging 9.1 km climb up Calle El Volcán, with an average gradient of 7.7%. With temperatures reaching 31°C, a tropical climate, and the mid-altitude of the climb at 1226 metres above sea level, conditions were tough for the competitors.
With the absence of renowned climbers at the start, the race did not see exceptional climbing performances. Lightweight climber Petra Stiasny dominated the event with a performance of 4.55 ᵉW/kg over 32:51 minutes, clinching her first professional victory. Given her weight of approximately 42 kilograms, the actual w/kg needed was closer to 5 w/kg, as calculations were standardised for everyone at 60 kg. Other top 5 riders Miermont, Coston, Harmann, and Biriukova produced efforts ranging from 4.41 to 4.45 ᵉW/kg.
On the Sea Level Power graph, Stiasny’s performance appears more impressive at 4.76 ᵉW/kg. The heat and climate conditions were challenging, as evidenced by Stiasny’s 9th place finish on the Jebel Hafeet stage, where she faced crosswinds and pushed similar watts but after significant fatigue. Usoa Ostolaza, who had a strong 2024 season with victories in climbing races and consistent top 10 finishes, could only manage 14th place.
All top 5 finishers hailed from Europe and European professional teams, while Latin American climbers failed to make a significant impact despite this being an opportunity to measure themselves against European professional climbers in their region. The El Salvador races will continue with a 5-day stage race and multiple one-day races aimed at farming UCI points.
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