Long journey back to winning ways for Lotta Henttala at Vuelta a Burgos Féminas

BURGOS SPAIN MAY 16 Stage winner Lotta Henttala of Finland and Team EF EducationCannondale R celebrates the victory with her teammate Noemi Ruegg of Switzerland L after the 9th Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2024 Stage 1 a 123km stage from Villagonzalo Pedernales to Burgos UCIWWT on May 16 2024 in Burgos Spain Photo by Alex BroadwayGetty Images
An emotional Lotta Hentalla (EF Education-Cannondale) being congratulated by teammate Noemi Ruegg after winning La Vuelta Burgos Feminas stage 1 (Image credit: Getty Images)

When Lotta Henttala (EF Education-Cannondale) crossed the finish line of stage 1 of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, having just passed late attacker Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck), she raised her left arm and started celebrating wildly. It then wasn't long till she was swarmed by hugging teammates and crying tears of joy – this was her first victory in over five years.

“We went to the day with ‘let’s see how I feel’, and if I feel okay, we can try to sprint because it’s been quite a long journey to come back. I had a baby a few years ago, and then I had long COVID but I’ve started to feel better month by month,” Henttala said in the race organisation’s post-race interview, filmed by ProCycling Women.

Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.