The Second Women's Vuelta
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es celebrates its second edition under this name, after years of growth as the Challenge by La Vuelta. The race, which started as a one-day event associated with the men's Vuelta Ciclista a España, has gradually increased the competition days to the eight days of this edition. The organization's intention is to establish the race as the third women's grand tour, alongside the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the Giro d’Italia Women.
Route
The Women's Vuelta begins with a team time trial that will set the first differences between the GC contenders. The second and fourth stages are the best suited for sprinters, while the third stage, with a hilly profile, and the seventh, which includes a final ramp (0.6 km at 6.7%), are better for explosive riders. The mountains, concentrated in the second half of the race (stages 5, 6, and 8), are where the general classification will be decided. Theese three stages have mountaintop finishes, with the toughest being the last one, which links the Puerto de la Morcuera (13.2 km at 6.3%) and the finish line in Valdesquí (12.5 km at 4.9%).
Favorites
Three days before the start of the race, several teams still need to confirm their line-ups. At the moment, Demi Vollering (1200), Elisa Longo Borghini (1200), Gaia Realini (800), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (1000), Juliette Labous (1000), Liane Lippert (1000), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (1000), Ricarda Bauernfeind (600), Mavi García (800), or Evita Muzic (800) are the main favorites for the general classification that we can find on the provisional start list.
Among the sprinters, Marianne Vos (1000) and Charlotte Kool (800) are a priori the fastest.
Photo: © La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es