Vuelta a España La Vuelta Femenina 2026 (May 3rd-9th)

[Samu Cuenca]

It's time for the first GT-ish race of the season the women's Vuelta a España, or in this case rather a Vuelta a Galicia, Castilla y León y Asturias since not much more than the northwestern corner of the country will be visited in the coming week. The 7 stages gradually build up for the final spectacle on the Spanish monster, Alto de l'Angliru, which makes it debut in the race after a few years of rumours.

Last year we saw Demi Vollering win for the second time in a row, while Marlen Reusser and Anna van der Breggen both continued to impress following their comebacks from health issues and retirement, respectively. While Vollering will be targeting the Giro ahead of the Tour this year and Reusser recovers from a different injury, VDB is back to defend herself once again. Does that then make her the favourite for the overall win?

Well she has had a solid season so far, but we have also come to know that she misses the top end climbing level and the explosivity needed to win the biggest events. If we look solely on the most recent races, Kasia Niewiadoma and Paula Blasi are the most likely champions, but when we reach the last two stages the differences in strength between the riders could be quite different than they were a week ago. It could end up being the most open of the three GT-ish races this year, but if someone super peaks next weekend it could also become a race without too much suspense. Time will tell, but if this season has taught us anything so far, FDJ will probably find some way to emerge victorious.

Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=9058&y=2026&k=8

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I think I will be posting the stage previews on a day-to-day basis this week.

Stage 1: Marín - Salvaterra de Miño, 113.9 km

Things will be kicking off from the town of Marín in the Galician province of Pontevedra. The area is home to the Escuela Naval Militar where both King Felipe the 6th and his disgraced father Juan Carlos have undergone military training. Princess Leonor, the first in line to the Spanish throne, completed her second year of military training at the academy in 2025.

Princess Leonor (left) and her sister Infanta Sofía with rcently retired badminton star Carolina Marín (no relation to the town) during the Paris Olympics

Marín hosted a stage start in the 2016 Vuelta, but its biggest claim to fame within cycling is probably that it is the home town of David García Dapena. A rider that managed to improve once he left the domestic scene in Portugal and signed for the local Galicia team, at the time sponsored by the former Russian Celta Vigo footballer, Valery Karpin. Here he achieved his best results, including winning the Tour of Turkey in 2008 plus a stage win en route to a third-place finish overall the following year. However, it was of course his Vuelta stage win in Ponferrada in 2008 that was his greatest individual performance.

In the 2010 Vuelta he also did some unbelievable rides in service of his team leader Ezequiel Mosquera. Obviously both his and Mosquera’s displays during the race did indeed turn out not to have been believable soon after the event was over. If you wonder what he’s up to these days, he’s apparently selling volcanic jewelry from Tenerife. I guess it’s more luxurious than ice cream-

Other interesting names associated with Marín include Ghanian-Spanish long jumper Jean Marie Okutu, European and World Championship medal winning Taekwondoin Iván García Martínez, and the guy with the third most appearances in the history of Celta Vigo, right-back Hugo Mallo.

After the start the riders will make their way south towards Moaña. Now I have already mentioned some football players that represented the top team in the region, but none of them comes close to the Magician of Moaña, the living legend that is Iago Aspas. Apart from a failed trip to Liverpool and an unsuccessful loan spell in Sevilla, Aspas has spent his whole senior career at Celta Vigo. With close to 570 first team matches (soon to become 400 in La Liga alone) and over 220 goals, Aspas has become one of the most influential figures in the club’s history and a statue of him has just been scheduled to be placed outside the Estadio de Balaídos in Vigo. The club hasn’t won any titles during his time with them, but his goals have helped the team avoid relegations and he’s won the Zarra Trophy for most goals scored by a Spanish player in La Liga on four occasions. At this point it’s still unclear whether he’s continuing his career past the current season, but hopefully he hasn’t scored his last goal yet no matter what he decides or has decided regarding his future.

From Moaña the riders will tackle the main obstacles of the day: the Alto da Cruceiro and the Alto da Portela, which are both situated in the area around the Coto Redondo where it would have been possible to have found steeper ascents, but since this is meant to be a sprint stage that doesn’t really matter much. After a descent to Paredes, they will have to start climbing again for a while from the town of Arcade de Riba. This hill totals around 7.5 km at 3% avg., but it’s mostly false flat until the last 2-3 km. The bonus sprint of the day is located in Ponteareas after 91 km. From there on to the final, there is a few small lumps on the profile, but nothing that should put many riders in difficulty.

The final kilometer includes two roundabouts, a left-hand turn, a right-hand turn and some stretches that aren’t completely straight. This is combined with an average gradient of around 3%, at times up to 6-7%, but it flattens out before the line. If you want to win, you probably have to be at the front when they make the final turn around 600m before the line. The finish line is located near a church with a cemetery, some football fields and a some kind of cultural center. It doesn’t seem like the most scenic place in the area.

Salvaterra de Miño on the border with Portugal has hosted a Vuelta start in 2014, where they pretty much rode the opposite direction of today's route and finished in Cangas de Morrazo, just outside Moaña, where a certain Adam Hansen took the last of his five career wins.

 

[Unterlenkerfahrend]

My favorite women stage race of the last couple of years BUT sadly I fear this year is a big downgrade compared to previous years.
They've seem to gone down the TdFF path of just chugging two hard mountain stages at the end to keep the tension and not bother about the rest.
Bit of a shame, at least stage 2 looks good.

 

[DJO]

Iago Aspas. A name Reds will never forget.

Thanks for the preview. I'll be at Old Trafford with Liverpool when this is on tomorrow. Stupid football

 

[Libertine Seguros]

My favorite women stage race of the last couple of years BUT sadly I fear this year is a big downgrade compared to previous years.
They've seem to gone down the TdFF path of just chugging two hard mountain stages at the end to keep the tension and not bother about the rest.
Bit of a shame, at least stage 2 looks good.

I largely agree, but the run in to A Coruña could be interesting - lots of little climbs and repechos that could spring surprises.

 

[JR1012]

Probably the most interesting grand tour this season because Vollering is not starting. The GC is in my opinion wide open. Also the flat and hilly stages will be exciting to watch because Wiebes and many other top sprinters are not on the startlist. But let’s have a look, who are the favourites for the GC and some other notable riders:

UAE: with her win in AGR and her great results in the other Ardennes classics, Paula Blasi can maybe finish her first grand tour in the top 5 or even on the podium. Of course we have to look how she will handle longer climbs. UAE will also probably aim for breakaway wins with Maeva Squiban and Karlijn Swinkels. Also Karlijn Swinkels could be in the mix for those hilly stages, when a reduced peloton fights for the win.

FDJ: Without Vollering, riders like Juliette Berthet and Évita Muzic can fight for their own ambitions. Juliette Berthe is probably the GC rider because Évita Muzic looked not promising this year. I expect Juliette Berthe to finish top 5 or even on the podium. With Franziska Koch, they have a rider for the hilly stages and remember she beat Vos in a sprint in Roubaix.

SDW: One favourite is Anna van der Breggen. Last year she finished third behind Vollering and Reusser, who both are not on the starlist. And with her good results in the Ardennes classics, she showed that she is in good form. Lotte Kopecky and Mischa Bredewold will aim for stage wins.

Visma: The next favourite is Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. She showed good form early this season but in Liege she wasn’t in her best shape. Big favourite for the sprint jersey and for most of the hilly stages and flat stage is the fastest rider on the startlist, Marianne Vos.

Canyon: Alongside Anna van der Breggen and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Kasia Niewiadoma is the next big favourite to win the GC. With her second, fourth and third place in the Ardennes classic, she is maybe the top favourite.

Lidl-Trek: Don’t have a rider for GC unless Riejanne Markus or Gaia Realini surprises us. They will probably be very active in attacks to try win stages of breakaways.

EF: Last year, Cédrine Kerbaol finished fourth. But also she finished fourth in Liege last year, which showed that she was in good from. This year in Liege she finished only 24th. So let’s wait and see if she can repeat the result from last year. I have her on my list for a top 5 finish. For the hilly stages they have Noemi Rüegg, who finished 5th in AGR and 2nd in MSR.

Liv AlUla Jayco: Next to Vos, Letizia Paternoster is probably the second fastest rider on the starlist. If she can survive the climbs on the hilly stages she might also be a good pick for a stage win.

Movistar: Will probably aim for stage wins with Liane Lippert.

 

[Red Rick]

I love that Angliru wasn't enough Rampas Inhumanas so they had to throw in Les Praeres as well

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I love that Angliru wasn't enough Rampas Inhumanas so they had to throw in Les Praeres as well

It's annoying though that they're both functionally Unipuerto. Sarah Gigante will love it, mind.

Unterlenkenfahrend was right to say it's a TdFF thing, a week of jockeying for position then two big stages at the end, but while they may have learned the wrong lessons from it, at least the Alpe d'Huez stage was not all about the Alpe. After all, it was already Demi+Pauliena on their own by the top of Glandon. These two stages will just be about the final climb and there isn't really the hope for it to be anything else. There isn't even Cordal.

 

[canina82]

Wasn't PFP the best stage racer in the world? She was very dominant in the Tour. Why isn't she the clear favorite for this race? Specially with climbs like Angliru, tailormade for lightweight women.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wasn't PFP the best stage racer in the world? She was very dominant in the Tour. Why isn't she the clear favorite for this race? Specially with climbs like Angliru, tailormade for lightweight women.

This race is not in France.

The other thing is that it's not so much "PFP is the best stage racer in the world" as "PFP at peak performance level is nigh on unstoppable". She doesn't have that strong a record outside of specific targeted events because she superpeaks and the expectation is not that she will be peaking for this race.

If she turns up and IS in peak form, she instantly becomes favourite, but people aren't really expecting peak PFP to appear.

 

[canina82]

This race is not in France.

And?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

And?

PFP targets French races big time, and always arrives at them in stronger form than elsewhere.

Last year she finished 17th in the UAE Tour after being 10th on Jebel Hafeet over 5 minutes down and quit the Vuelta halfway through - then turned up at the Tour and was putting minutes into everybody.

Compare Demi Vollering's stage races last year: 1st at Setmana Valenciana, 1st at Vuelta, 1st at Itzulia, 2nd at Tour de Suisse, 2nd at Tour. After in 2024 being: 1st at Vuelta, 1st at Itzulia, 1st at Burgos, 1st at Tour de Suisse, 2nd at Tour. Or Longo Borghini: 1st at UAE, 2nd at Burgos, 1st at Giro, after in 2024 being: 7th at UAE, 3rd at Vuelta, 3rd at Tour de Suisse, 1st at Giro, 10th at Simac. Or Reusser: 2nd at Setmana Valenciana, 2nd at Vuelta, 1st at Burgos, 1st at Romandie, 2nd at Giro, DNF at Tour.

This is why it isn't as simple as PFP being the best stage racer in the world because she won the Tour so dominantly: because she's done that once and we know that she superpeaks. Those others have done it all year long for many years.

That's also why PFP's performance last year turned many heads and drew so many comments: because those two days turned what the péloton thought it knew about itself on its head - and came after a generation raised on the belief that superpeaking was a dirty word.

 

[canina82]

PFP targets French races big time, and always arrives at them in stronger form than elsewhere.

Last year she finished 17th in the UAE Tour after being 10th on Jebel Hafeet over 5 minutes down and quit the Vuelta halfway through - then turned up at the Tour and was putting minutes into everybody.

Compare Demi Vollering's stage races last year: 1st at Setmana Valenciana, 1st at Vuelta, 1st at Itzulia, 2nd at Tour de Suisse, 2nd at Tour. After in 2024 being: 1st at Vuelta, 1st at Itzulia, 1st at Burgos, 1st at Tour de Suisse, 2nd at Tour. Or Longo Borghini: 1st at UAE, 2nd at Burgos, 1st at Giro, after in 2024 being: 7th at UAE, 3rd at Vuelta, 3rd at Tour de Suisse, 1st at Giro, 10th at Simac. Or Reusser: 2nd at Setmana Valenciana, 2nd at Vuelta, 1st at Burgos, 1st at Romandie, 2nd at Giro, DNF at Tour.

This is why it isn't as simple as PFP being the best stage racer in the world because she won the Tour so dominantly: because she's done that once and we know that she superpeaks. Those others have done it all year long for many years.

That's also why PFP's performance last year turned many heads and drew so many comments: because those two days turned what the péloton thought it knew about itself on its head - and came after a generation raised on the belief that superpeaking was a dirty word.

So who is the clear favorite to win? Or the main favorite for you?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

It's annoying though that they're both functionally Unipuerto. Sarah Gigante will love it, mind.

Well her comeback has been postponed once more, but we have Žigart, Realini and Cavallar at the start to try and collectively fill the void.

 

[Alien Performance]

putting my chips on Kasia but Blasi could make the race very interesting

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So who is the clear favorite to win? Or the main favorite for you?

I don't think there is a clear favourite to win. There's question marks about everybody.

Van der Breggen hasn't been on her best form, but she has plenty of experience and has been there and done that many times over. PFP has the highest ceiling, but doesn't hit those heights as often. Niewiadoma is capable, on form and likes steep stuff, but races with heart over head a lot and is often thereabouts but not quite there. Blasi has been looking impressive but she's unproven on this type of climbing and in longer stage races. And as Samu mentions, there's a bunch of one-dimensional climbers who could have something to say on the day, but who aren't usually as all-round and are on teams that mean they will likely be starting with a deficit before the all-important final weekend climbs (see also Petra Stiasny, a wonderful climber at her best, but she never met a split in the péloton she didn't miss). Berthet and Muzic are getting their chance to race without playing second fiddle to Demi, both are capable (have both been 4th in Le Tour) but haven't been as impressive in the last season or so. Muzic especially likes really steep stuff, but typically Angliru is probably a bit out of her usual range, Les Praeres is probably more her thing. Cédrine Kerbaol is one to watch as well, she's great in these longer stage races and bigger mountain stages (4th and 6th in the two MTFs at last year's Vuelta, 6th on Madeleine in the Tour), and Monica Trinca Colonel is somebody who could do something as well - she's a late starter but has been very good in climbing races. And Yara Kastelijn was 5th on Madeleine too, although she so far seems to have a day or two where she loses time. Liane Lippert will probably stagehunt, and has always had an off day in these longer stage races that mean she hasn't really got much of a GC record in them, but for a long time neither did Elisa Longo Borghini, and whatever outcome Liane's race has, it's at least highly unlikely to be boring.

Plus there are a few people who have shown the ability that they could mix it up there, they just haven't done so in a while, so while it would be surprising, they do have the ability in there - Neve Bradbury was 3rd in the Vuelta and 2nd in the Tour de Suisse two years ago; Erica Magnaldi used to be a very consistent climber and was 5th in the Giro back in 2023; Mavi García is in the final throes of her career but has always been a good endurance climber; and hell, maybe if we get really lucky Cille can roll back the clock and find her 2022-2023 climbing legs.

Oh, and of course we mustn't forget the mighty Usoa Ostolaza. All her best results are on the toughest gradients. Aubisque and Soulor MTFs at the Tour des Pyrenées in consecutive years, the nationals on the murito at San Lorenzo de El Escorial; the GP Eibar (although this year had them climbing the easier side of Ixua admittedly); the Cerro Verde hillclimb in El Salvador; Lagunas de Neila in last year's Vuelta; 2nd behind a teammate on the Arrate MTF version of GP Eibar. It's the women's cycling equivalent of following Igor Antón - a fool's errand, but then I've cheered for Kasia Niewiadoma to win things for over a decade, so I'm used to those.

 

[yaco]

It's annoying though that they're both functionally Unipuerto. Sarah Gigante will love it, mind.

Unterlenkenfahrend was right to say it's a TdFF thing, a week of jockeying for position then two big stages at the end, but while they may have learned the wrong lessons from it, at least the Alpe d'Huez stage was not all about the Alpe. After all, it was already Demi+Pauliena on their own by the top of Glandon. These two stages will just be about the final climb and there isn't really the hope for it to be anything else. There isn't even Cordal.

Unfortunately, Gigante who was my selection for the Vuelta in her seasonal debut was a last minute withdrawal. I question having Blasi so high in the rankings as i doubt she's had the best preparation for this race.

 

[vappa]

Wasn't PFP the best stage racer in the world? She was very dominant in the Tour. Why isn't she the clear favorite for this race? Specially with climbs like Angliru, tailormade for lightweight women.

Because Kasia is in better shape and not heavier so the weight won't play a role on rampas. And what the others have said. To me she's 2nd favourite behind Kasia

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Cyclocross goes to the Vuelta

 

[Samu Cuenca]

PFP was very strong in De Ronde and Roubaix, but her latest performances have been unimpressive. She could win this, but she could also abandon like she did last year. The team say they're only targeting stage wins, but that could be BS.

Regarding the route, I do wish they had started the race with a short time trial. It obviously shouldn't have been a long one given the nature of the rest of the parcours, but if one sprinter proves to be much better than anyone else they could get 5 stage wins here, and then I'd rather have some more intel ahead of the ITT in the Tour.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I definitely agree that the race is missing an ITT, and ideally another mountain stage, but one of a different character to the two functionally Unipuerto ones.

Because of the somewhat different characteristics of women's racing to men's at the moment, I think that we are looking at formula where I'd look for:
- one stage where an MTF will be the key, this should be on a signature climb with name value or notoriety that gives an audience hook to the race. Covadonga, Angliru, Zoncolan, Blockhaus are all examples of this in recent years. I'd actually in some respects prefer this to be a classic cat.1 type ascent than a monolithic HC because of options elsewhere but I'll get to that.

- another high mountain stage but without an MTF, where the MTF is a lesser climb that is not the key of the stage or at the very least the MTF is not the be all and end all. If the stage above is a pure monolithic HC, then something like the Morcuera-Valdesquí stage from the Vuelta a couple of years ago is the perfect counterbalance; if it's something more like, say, Pla d'Adet or Oropa, then something like Mortirolo-Aprica, or the Finestre-Sestriere double we're seeing in this year's Giro, works for this role. Glandon-Alpe d'Huez from the 2024 Tour is an extreme example of this, and again because of SD Worx' dysfunctionality they got lightning in a bottle with that stage, but that stage delivered 100%. Other thoughts for possibilities for this stage as a design would be something akin to Asolo in the 2010 Giro, the Tirreno-Adriatico 2014 Guardiagrele stage, the 2006 Vuelta stage to Granada using Cabra Montés instead of La Contraviesa to shorten the stage to typical women's cycling length, or the 2020 Tour stage to Loudenvielle (which could be lifted wholesale in all honesty). This Giro Rosa stage from 2014 was a brilliant stage that showcases this principle.

- a stage with multiple ups-and-downs but not utilising the real monster climbs. The Giro has done a decent job of this in recent years, truth be told. I've used a rule of thumb in the past that because women's races tended to be around 2/3 the distance of men's races, the climbs need to be 2/3 the distance to have the same relative impact to race distance (so a monster HC climb is likely to have an impact of ~50% greater time gaps in a women's race). It's an inexact science, of course, but it does then suggest that multi-climb stages ought to focus on cat.2 type climbs. The Giro has offered things like this from this year, this from 2015, this from 2024, this from 2023 and this beauty from 2022 to illustrate this type of stage, which sadly so far the Tour and Vuelta haven't included much of, although the last stage from the 2025 Tour is a good example. This one from 2016 was an absolute epic. A few men's cycling stages that I think would be illustrative of the kind of climbs that I'd be looking for here would be this one from Gran Camiño 2022 (the perfect example of this for me would be to start in Maceda, climb the Monte da Meda from the 2026 Gran Camiño, descend to the riverside, climb Seragude and Moura from that 2022 stage, then descend into Ourense and finish with a repecho in the city); this one from the Vuelta a Asturias, most Nice-Nice stages from Paris-Nice in recent years; this from Paris-Nice 2022, or if it's got to finish uphill then this from Romandie 2017.

- the rest of the race should have an ITT of a decent length (>15km), a couple of flat stages, and one other uphill finish which is more of the puncheur kind of status, although preferably more the kind that can open time gaps like a Tirreno-Adriatico murito, a Mur de Huy type finale, or one of those short Spanish ones like Santo Toribio, Valdepeñas de Jaén or San Lorenzo de El Escorial rather than one that becomes an uphill drag race sprint like the old Guarda finish in the Volta, Montjuïc from the 2009 Tour side or the Côte de Cadoudal. Probably another stage which has the potential for some time gaps but more rouleur-oriented, so perhaps some climbing but not at the finish - something akin to a classic Córdoba stage - or some cobbles (bergs or flat), sterrato, hormigón or ribinou, or in an area highly susceptible to crosswinds.

That to me would give the ideal kind of balance for these 8/9-stage petit-GTs, I would like to see them adopt Volta a Portugal format in the short to medium term with a long term goal of hitting 15 stages over two weeks, but appreciating that we're still some way from that.