HTC-Columbia's Judith Arndt has taken her first win of the 2010 season in stage two of the Bira race in Spain on Friday, a  victory which has catapulted the German into second place overall.  Arndt's victory is the twentieth win for the HTC-Columbia women's team this season.

Arndt broke away with Claudia Haussler of the Cervélo squad on the second last climb of a very tough 112 kilometre stage, then outsprinted her rival at the finish.
Arndt was the overall winner of the Bira stage race in 2009.

"This is a really important win for Judith on a lot of levels because she had a really difficult 2009 season with a lot of setbacks and injuries," commented HTC-Columbia team manager Ronny Lauke.  "But she got second in a World Cup race in Spain recently, and that was a sign that her form was on the way up again.  It wasn't an easy win. Today's stage was very difficult, with five classified climbs and narrow, twisting roads, and most of the day it rained, too.  But she got away with Haussler on that climb and they stayed away to the finish with over 90 seconds on the chasing group."

Saturday's stage has two sectors, the first a short but difficult uphill time trial which Lauke says could be decisive for the race.  "With Judith clearly in good shape, we can be optimistic about it. But whatever happens, today's win is a great moment for her and for the team."