La Vuelta Femenina 2024: Grand Tour Season Begins with Exciting Lineup
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As of this Sunday, April 29, we’re officially in Grand Tour season, as the eight-stage Vuelta Femenina kicks off with a 16-kilometer team time trial in Valencia, Spain.
Jointly organized by Unipublic and Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the same entities behind the men’s Vuelta a España, La Vuelta Femenina replaced the former one-day race, Challenge by La Vuelta, which previously ran concurrently with the men’s tour.
Last year’s race covered just over 740 kilometers over the course of its seven stages. It was won by Movistar’s Annemiek van Vleuten, who, with the win, became the first woman to win all three of the major women’s stage races (the Vuelta, along with the Tour de France Femmes, and the Giro Donne). She beat SD Worx’s Demi Vollering but just nine seconds. Trek-Segafredo’s Gaia Realini rounded out the podium in third.
But van Vleuten retired after last season, meaning there’s no chance for a repeat winner. And given the variety of winners we’ve seen in the women’s peloton this spring, this race is truly up for grabs.
The Route
This year’s race adds a stage, making it eight in total. All of them stick exclusively to Spain’s northwest and northcentral regions.
It kicks off with what should be a blistering team time trial over 16 lake-flat kilometers. From there, the second stage will take riders from Buñol to Moncofa over 118 hilly kilometers, including just one Category 3 climb. As that climb comes 40 kilometers from the finish, expect a bunch sprint.
The third stage is a 131-kilometer medium mountain stage that will take riders from Lucena to Teruel and feature another Category 3 ascent. Stage four covers 142 kilometers from Molina de Aragón to Zaragoza and is mostly downhill from start to finish.
The 113 kilometers of stage 5 are where the peloton first gets into proper mountains, with a pair of category 2 climbs—one of which provides the day’s summit finish—on the menu. Stage 6 is the opposite of stage 4, taking riders on a daylong gradual uphill from Tarazona to Laguna Negra, ending with a category 1 summit finish that very well could determine the race’s overall winner.
Stage 7 could be the last chance for the sprinters to leave their mark. However, the final 500 meters of the day’s 126 kilometers ramp up to 10%, so look for a punchier rider to take the win there.
The Vuelta Feminina will end with an 89-kilometer ride from Distrito Telefónca to ValdesquíMadrid. The ride features a pair of category-1 climbs, the last of which leads to the race’s final finish line.
Complete information on each stage can be found here.
How to Watch
The Vuelta Feminina will be broadcast in the US via Peacock, which costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. In Canada, the race will be broadcast via FloSports, which costs $12.50 per month or $150 per year.
Live Stream Schedule - All times Eastern (EDT)
04/28 - Stage 1 Valencia > Valencia - 9:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
04/29 - Stage 2 Buñol > Moncófar - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
04/30 - Stage 3 Lucena del Cid > Teruel - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
05/01 - Stage 4 Molina de Aragón > Zaragoza - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
05/02 - Stage 5 Huesca > Jaca - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
05/03 - Stage 6 Tarazona > Vinuesa - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
05/04 - Stage 7 San Esteban de Gormaz > Sigüenza - 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
05/05 - Stage 8 Distrito Telefónica. Madrid > Valdesquí - 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Riders to Watch
While the final roster for the race is yet to be final, several confirmed names promise another competitive edition. Among the riders targeting the general classification are Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion Demi Vollering of SD Worx-Protime, Gaia Realini of Lidl-Trek, who graced the podium last year, and the consistently impressive Kasia Niewiadoma of SD Worx-Protime. With the absence of retired defending champion Anemiek Van Vleuten and Vollering showing signs of wavering form this season, the battle for the coveted red jersey appears wide open.
Other riders to watch are the 2024 Tour of Flanders champion Elisa Longo Borghini of Lidl-Trek, Canyon//SRAM’s Ricarda Bauernfeind, and Mavi García of Liv Alula Jayco.
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