Read the wet, punchy finale perfectly. Rüegg stayed out of trouble through a chaotic finish marked by a late crash, then produced the best kick on the uphill drag to Salvaterra de Miño to win by four seconds over Lotte Kopecky and pull on the first red jersey of the Vuelta. A statement opening to her race before the GC riders took over.

• Won the uphill bunch finish to take stage 1 and the first red leader's jersey

Rüegg stayed with the reduced front group over the closing climbs and took fifth in the sprint for the minor placings at 43 seconds, EF Education-Oatly's leading finisher. A solid hilly-classics result that underlined her consistency through the spring.

Twelfth for EF Education-Oatly, finishing on the same time as Bredewold and Koch just behind the leading chase group — a strong classics ride at the front end of the race.

Rüegg confirmed her strong early-season by making the four-rider response to Pieterse's Poggio move and contesting the win. In the sprint she settled onto Kopecky's wheel and held second, unable to come around the Belgian but well clear of the chasers. A standout one-day result that marks her out as a genuine Monument contender.

• 5 kmFollowed the Poggio selection into the front five

Made the decisive 12-rider group over Challambra and sprinted to 7th, a solid early-season day for the Swiss puncheur-sprinter.

• Challambra circuitSurvived the Challambra selection to contest the bunch sprint

Rüegg was EF's protected card on the flat Tanunda circuit and delivered, contesting the bunch sprint and taking second behind Coles-Lyster. It was another podium in a busy Australian summer for the Swiss all-rounder, who showed she can finish fast as well as climb.

• FinishSprinted to second from the front group, the closest rider to the winner

Rüegg rode the stage of the race to defend her title. She briefly looked in trouble on the first Corkscrew before teammate Magdeleine Vallières paced her back to the front, then bridged to a UAE move on the second ascent that left her outnumbered three to one. She marked every attack from Garcia, Wlodarczyk and Blasi, took the group to the line together, and won the sprint from 500 m out to claim both the stage and the overall — back-to-back Tour Down Under crowns.

• First CorkscrewDistanced briefly, then nursed back to the lead group by Vallières
• Second CorkscrewBridged across to the UAE move despite being outnumbered three to one
• Final 500 m, CampbelltownOut-sprinted the three UAE riders to win the stage and seal the GC

EF lined out the finale for Rüegg and she launched the sprint first on the Paracombe climb, but couldn't hold off Wollaston's late surge and settled for second. The defending champion stayed within striking distance on GC, keeping her title defence alive for the Corkscrew showdown to come.

• Paracombe final climbOpened the sprint first but was passed by Wollaston for second

Rüegg came in as defending champion and delivered a textbook title defence. She was beaten to the line on Stage 2 by Wollaston but kept herself perfectly placed in GC, then produced the ride of the race on Stage 3: dropped briefly and paced back by Magdeleine Vallières, she then held off a three-on-one UAE Team ADQ attack over the double Corkscrew and out-sprinted Garcia, Blasi and Wlodarczyk in Campbelltown to win the stage and the overall. It made her the first back-to-back Women's Tour Down Under winner since 2019.

• Paracombe finishLaunched the sprint first but was passed by Wollaston for second on the stage
• First CorkscrewDistanced briefly, then nursed back to the front group by teammate Vallières
• Final 500 m, CampbelltownOut-sprinted the three UAE riders to win the stage and seal the GC

The defending champion stayed safely in the lead group on the uphill finish, taking fourth on the same time as the winner. It was a low-key, controlled opener that kept her right in GC contention for the stages to come.

• Lower Willunga Hill finishFinished fourth in the front group, same time as the winner