The first Grand Tour of the season has concluded, with Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) securing the overall title on Sunday in Valdesquí. Comunidad de Madrid.
Her dominant performances in the late mountain stages of the eight-day race led to her winning the 2024 La Vuelta Femenina and adding a second Grand Tour title to her achievements after securing the victory at last year's Tour de France Femmes.
It was an action-packed eight days of racing that kicked off with a team time trial on April 28 in Valencia and concluded on Sunday, May 5, in the mountains located on the outskirts of Madrid.
While several crashes affected the opening stages of the event, the peloton tackled a wide range of routes along the eight days, everything from punchy terrain to flat courses and mountain finishes, which led to several new faces, along with breakaway specialists, sprinters, and climbers, on the winner's step of the podiums.
Cyclingnews looks at the key takeaways from this year's La Vuelta Femenina.
Vollering's first win of the season
There was plenty of discussion about Demi Vollering's form during the Spring Classics because she hadn't secured a victory before starting La Vuelta Femenina, largely in comparison to last year, when she had already added five wins under he belt by this point of the season.
The Dutch Champion admitted to a slower start this year but also mentioned bigger targets later in the season, such as defending her title at the Tour de France Femmes in August.
Vollering took four podiums during the Classics, and although her form may have fallen short of a victory on the punchy climbs of those one-day races, she seems to be exactly where it needs to be for the longer mountain ascents of the Grand Tours.
She had plenty of competition on the three major mountain stages of La Vuelta Femenina but ultimately outpowered her nearest rivals, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) at Alto del Fuerte Rapitán, and Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), who also won atop La Laguna Negra, and Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike) at Valdesquí. Comunidad de Madrid.
Her winning margin of 1:49 over runner-up Markus and 2 minutes over Longo Borghini showed how well prepared she was for this stage race and a good indication of the trajectory of her form heading into stage racing season.
This may have been Vollering's first peak of the season, but watch for her form to continue to improve across the next set of WorldTour races at Itzulia Women, Vuelta a Burgos, before ramping it up again for the Tour de France Femmes.
"It's a good start, and I hope I can do some other really nice stage races, of course," Vollering said. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
US, Canada, New Zealand show strength
Canadian Alison Jackson and American Kristen Faulkner, both racing for EF Education-Cannondale, put North America on the map at La Vuelta Femenina after they both secured stage wins during the eight-day race.
Jackson stormed to victory on the second stage, winning a reduced bunch sprint into Moncófar and performing her trademark victory dance at the finish line surrounded by her teammates in celebration of their success. Two days later, Faulkner took a second victory for the American squad with a solo win in Zaragoza.
"It’s been such a good week," Faulkner said. "I’m so proud of how the team performed. Not only did everyone do their job everyday, but we walked away with two stage wins, several top tens, a second place. Kim [Cadzow] did really well in the mountains. She’s really coming along as a rider and as a climber. I’m super excited for the rest of the season."
EF Education-Cannondale is in their first season as a Continental outfit and has capitalised off of their invitations to the major races, ensuring every one counts. With a solid roster and a 'thinking outside the box' mentality, the team have won ten races this season, more than some of the top-tier WorldTour teams.
In the overall classification, New Zealand was also a presence with EF Education-Cannondale's Kim Cadzow finishing in the top 10 on mountaintop finishes Alto del Fuerte Rapitán and at La Laguna Negra and finishing 10th overall in her GC debut.
Cadzow's performance gives New Zealand another contender alongside SD Worx-Protime's Niamh Fisher-Black, who finished seventh overall and Ella Wylie, who was not at the Vuelta but finished seventh overall at the Tour Down Under.
"The Vuelta has been pretty amazing," Cadzow said. "I feel like I’ve had a bit of a roller coaster while being here, but it’s been amazing for my first grand tour. The team has put on probably the most amazing performance we could have ever imagined. I think we’re all going to go home happy."
Markus, Muzic, Kastelijn on the rise
Several riders toed the start line of La Vuelta Femenina as outright contenders in the race for the maillot rojo and lived up to those GC expectations. Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) won the overall title, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) finished on the podium in third, and Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) showed promising stage racing form to finish fourth place overall.
There were also some pleasant surprises who raced their way into the GC standings, all riders with the strength and ability to finish at the top of the overall classification but who might not always have the opportunity to do so.
Visma-Lease a Bike started with a runner-up performance in the team time trial and went on to win two stages and the points jersey with Marianne Vos, who also wore the leader's jersey after stage 4. However, it was Riejanne Markus who bided her time as the race played out for the overall classification. After finishing fourth overall last year, her steady performance on the mountain stages and a strong finale saw her jump ahead of Longo Borghini and finish runner-up behind Vollering on the podium in this edition.
Evita Muzic has come into her form this season, and her fourth place at Flèche Wallonne meant she came into the Vuelta in top form. Even so, it was her outstanding performance on stage 6, where she beat Vollering atop La Laguna Negra, that turned heads and put her in contention for a top GC result. She went on to finish second behind Vollering on the finale stage 8 to Valdesquí. Comunidad de Madrid, but solifide her fifth place in the overall.
Fenix-Deceuninck have been turning heads since last season's performances at the Tour de France Femmes, and they carried their team success into this Vuelta, too, with Yara Kastelijn finishing on the podium at Alto del Fuerte Rapitán and La Laguna Negra. She ended up eighth overall, just ahead of her teammate Pauliena Rooijakkers in ninth.
Spanish riders gain top-tier experience
The level of races across Spain is steadily increasing with the addition of top-tier races, La Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia Women, and Vuelta a Burgos, along with multiple lower-level one-day and stage races on the international calendar over recent years.
Movistar lined up as the only top-tier team registered in Spain, but having adjusted their goals since the retirement of Annemiek van Vleuten at the end of last year. Also on the start line were Spain's only two Continental teams; Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi and Eneicat-CMTeam, both looking for opportunities to gain experience in top-tier racing on home soil.
Although the nation's competing riders may not have consistently placed among the top 10 in the stages finishes or general classification, they took opportunities throughout the eight-day race that catered to their strengths in sprint finishes, breakaways, combativity awards, which are all important for building experience in the race as well as gaining visibility as a nation.
Sheyla Gutiérrez (Movistar) was the highest-placed stage finisher, fifth on stage 4 into Zaragoza, as part of a chase group behind Kristen Faulkner. In the overall classification, Spanish Champion Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) was the highest-placed finisher, 20th. That would not have been her best performance, but she will also be looking at stronger results in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) was one of the most active riders of the event, racing into a lengthy 111km solo breakaway on stage 3 and finishing the event as the winner of the super combativity prize.
"Our team is making big steps, and I'm immensely proud of our collective effort. I am really looking forward to the upcoming races and the opportunities they hold. It's truly gratifying to stand on the podium once again, especially receiving the Super Combativity Prize in La Vuelta Femenina. It boosts my confidence, also because it’s not easy to get into the breakaways. So I am very happy with the prize.” said Benito.
Vuelta sets the tone for Itzulia, Burgos
Spain offers an abundance of racing during the season, beginning with spring events such as the new trio of races at the Challenge Femenina Mallorca, Costa de Almeria, Vuelta CV Feminas, Setmana Valenciana, and Clasica de Almeria and Vuelta Extremadura Féminas.
The increasing growth of La Vuelta Femenina moving to the May spot on the calendar and increasing seven days in 2023 and then eight days this year with major mountain finishes in both editions has lived up to its top-tier expectations.
The event now sets the tone as the first Grand Tour of the season and leads directly into the next two Women's WorldTour races, also in Spain, at the Itzulia Women held from May 10-12 and Vuelta a Burgos held from May 16-19.
Many of the top general classification contenders will remain in Spain to compete in the following two events, making a high-quality month of mountainous stage racing that will likely include Itzulia defending champion Marlen Reusser and Burgos defending champion Demi Vollering, both SD Worx-Protime, along with other riders to watch; Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Evita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ).
