The First of the three Women’s Grand Tours
La Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es was born in 2015 as La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, a one-day race linked to the men’s Vuelta Ciclista a España. Over the past decade, the race has progressively added more competition days, reaching a full week in 2023. With this new format and a now well-established name, it becomes the first of the three women’s Grand Tours of the year, alongside the Giro d’Italia Women and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwif. For the first time, this three races will have its own combined classification in Cycling Fantasy.
Route
This edition consists of 7 stages through northern Spain. The race will begin with an 8 km team time trial in central Barcelona. The remaining six stages include three sprint opportunities (stages 2, 3, and 6), one medium mountain stage (stage 4), and two mountain stages with mountaintop finishes (stages 5 and 7), which will decide the overall classification.
Favorites
The start list is still in its early stages, making predictions difficult. However, Demi Vollering (1200) already stands out as the top favorite. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (200), Marianne Vos (1000), Evita Muzic (800), Mavi García (800), Liane Lippert (1000), Marlen Reusser (1000), and Kristen Faulkner (600) are also prominent names featured in the provisional entry list.
Photo: © La Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es