Barcelona will host the start of La Vuelta Femenina 25 by Carrefour.es on Sunday, May 4th. The event will be run over seven stages, moving from East to West on the Iberian Peninsula.
After two intense stages in Catalonia, the peloton will face a couple of rolling stages in Aragón before reaching the first major test of the route – the ascent to Lagunas de Neila.
Asturias will once again hold the great finale of the race. On schedule, the hardest stage ever ridden in La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es – more than 150 kilometres and 2500 meters of elevation gain, finishing atop the demanding Cotobello climb.
The ‘Tinglados’ in Moll de Llevant, recently renovated by the Barcelona Port Authority, hosted on Monday, March 10th the route presentation of La Vuelta Femenina 25 by Carrefour.es. The route includes all the features that have established this stage race as one of the main pillars in the women’s road cycling season.
As part of its campaign to promote bicycles as a key vehicle for both tourism and sustainability, the city of Barcelona bid to host the start of this event next May 4th as it did in La Vuelta 23 and will do in the Tour de France 2026. In all three occasions, with a team time trial showcasing some of its more celebrated monuments to raise the curtain on the action. In this particular case, the race will start just outside Casa Milà, also known as ‘La Pedrera’, an iconic modernist building designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, and its turning point will be placed right in front of the Palacio de Pedralbes gardens. The riders won’t have much time for sightseeing, though, as the 8-kilometre course will demand the best effort from those squads aiming to fight for the overall win or just wear La Roja, the red GC leader jersey, at some point of the week.
The following three stages are predominantly rolling, yet aggressive racing is assured. The second racing day between Molins de Rei and Sant Boi de Llobregat starts with a tough climb, the Alto de la Creu de L’Aragall (Cat 2), ideal to be used as a launchpad for a strong breakaway. As in last year’s fast, hectic journey to Zaragoza on which Kristen Faulkner clocked a 46.754 kph average speed over 142,3 kilometres to claim the victory, the wind will be a factor in stage 3 between Barbastro and Huesca. The region of Aragón will offer yet another show in the next chapter of the event, between Pedrola and Borja, with the climbs to Moncayo (Cat 2) and El Buste (Cat 2) bound to create a selection in the peloton before a fast descent to the finish.
Climbers are set to prevail, though, in the two mountaintop finishes that, separated by a flat stage from Becerril de Campos to Baltanás, will probably decide the outcome of the GC. Most cycling fans are well acquainted with Lagunas de Neila as this climb has been the main fixture of the Vuelta a Burgos for many years already. This year, it will enter the books of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es by hosting the finish of the 5th stage.
To top this off, the region of Asturias is back on the program of this event after the unforgettable duel between Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering at Lagos de Covadonga two years ago. The exciting finale consists of a 152-kilometre long stage starting from La Robla, in León, that features no less than three climbs on its second half – the Alto de la Colladona (Cat 2), the Alto de la Colladiella (Cat 1) and the gruelling ascent to Cotobello (Cat 1). All these challenges add up to more than 2500 meters of altitude gain, the most ever recorded in a stage of the Spanish Grand Tour.
Stages – La Vuelta Femenina 25 by Carrefour.es
· Sunday, May 4th, Stage 1 : Barcelona Barcelona (team time trial, 8 km)
· Monday, May 5th, Stage 2 : Molins de Rei Sant Boi de Llobregat (99 km)
· Tuesday, May 6th, Stage 3 : Barbastro Huesca (132 km)
· Wednesday, May 7th, Stage 4 : Pedrola Borja (111 km)
· Thursday, May 8th, Stage 5 : Golmayo Lagunas de Neila (120 km)
· Friday, May 9th, Stage 6 : Becerril de Campos Baltanás (126 km)
· Saturday, May 10th, Stage 7 : La Robla Cotobello. Asturias (152 km)
