'The tactic paid off' – Cat Ferguson wins opening race of season in Mallorca

Cat Ferguson began her 2026 season with a commanding sprint victory on Sunday at the Trofeo Llucmajor one-day race in Mallorca, Spain.

The 19-year-old Brit, now in her second full year with WorldTour squad Movistar, came off the wheel of her team-mate Arlenis Sierra, and held off Lidl-Trek’s Clara Copponi down the finishing straight of the third-tier event.

The victory marked Ferguson’s sixth as a pro, and followed on from three last season, including her first at WorldTour level at the Tour of Britain Women.

Speaking after the finish line on Sunday, Ferguson said: “The team for sure was the key today, with the wind. The victory would not have been possible without all the girls’ efforts, which was exaggerated even more by the wind.”

The teenager came into the finish of the 134.8km race in an 11-rider lead group, which had torn off the peloton as an echelon. The Brit had two team-mates in the group – Arlenis Sierra and Aude Biannic – while UAE Team ADQ counted five riders at the front.

“100% the team and the team plan were the key,” said Ferguson. “We stayed calm, and we are the ones who made the race, and in the end, I think that tactic paid off.

“Arlenis was my final girl for the lead-out, and I’ve already learned so much from her in one race. She’s really someone I look up to, and she showed me just how to sprint. For sure, the win wouldn’t have been possible without her today.”

Ferguson will have the chance to extend her 100% record on Monday afternoon when she rides the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx, another third-tier Mallorcan one-day race.

The Brit’s spring calendar will then take her to WorldTour events Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Milan-San Remo Women, In Flanders Fields - in Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and the Giro d’Italia Women.

“The Giro is a big goal for me, and I hope I can improve to show that I’m good enough to go to the Tour [de France Femmes avec Zwift] as well because if so then that would become my main goal of the season,” Ferguson told Cycling Weekly last month.

“I’ve got to prove that I am one of the riders deserving of a place throughout the season, and show the team that I’m in good shape and that I can be an asset to them.”