Vuelta España Femenina 2025 Race Preview 🇪🇸 🚴♀️
The first Grand Tour of the season kicks off today
The 11th edition of the Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es kicks off on Sunday, 4 May in Barcelona and concludes seven stages later atop the Alto de Cotobello.
It’s an event that has evolved, beginning as a one-day race for sprinters during the first three editions. From 2018 to 2020, the race introduced a multi-day format, featuring a time trial and one or two road stages. However, the race still didn’t feature any mountainous terrain during this period.
It wasn’t until 2021 that the race really began to take shape into what it is today. The number of stages and range of difficulty of these stages have gradually increased year on year, to the point where, for 2025, seven stages feature, including two mountain top finishes. However, this year, the race is one day shorter compared to 2024.
As expected, a race of this magnitude features a stacked start list featuring no less than defending champion Demi Vollering and the current Tour de France champion Kasia Niewiadoma. This preview looks into the stages and key riders that are set to feature over the upcoming week of racing around Spain.
Race Schedule
Stage 1 (TTT) | Barcelona - Barcelona (8.1 km) | Sunday 4 May
Stage 2 | Molins de Rei - Sant Boi de Llobregat (99 km) | Monday 5 May
Stage 3 | Barbastro - Huesca (132.4 km) | Tuesday 6 May
Stage 4 | Pedrola - Borja (111.6 km) | Wednesday 7 May
Stage 5 | Golmayo - Lagunas de Neila (120.4 km) | Thursday 8 May
Stage 6 | Becerril de Campos - Baltanás (126.7 km) | Friday 9 May
Stage 7 | La Robla - Alto de Cotobello (152.6 km) | Saturday 10 May
Race Statistics
Most GC Wins | Annemiek Van Vleuten - 3 Times
Most Finishes | Eugenia Bujak - 9 Times
Youngest Winner | Jolien D’Hoore - 26 Years and 181 Days (2016)
Oldest Winner | Annemiek Van Vleuten - 40 Years and 211 Days (2023)
Most Stage Wins | Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos - 4 Times
Most Leader Jerseys | Annemiek Van Vleuten - 8
2024 Recap
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1st | Demi Vollering 🇳🇱 (Team SD Worx-Protime): 23:30:55
2nd | Riejanne Markus 🇳🇱 (Team Visma | Lease a Bike): + 1:49
3rd | Elisa Longo Borghini 🇮🇹 (Lidl-Trek): + 2:00
4th | Juliette Labous 🇫🇷 (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL): + 2:58
5th | Évita Muzic 🇫🇷 (FDJ-SUEZ) + 3:15
STAGES
1 | Lidl-Trek 🇺🇸
2 | Alison Jackson 🇨🇦 (EF Education-Cannondale)
3 | Marianne Vos 🇳🇱 (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
4 | Kristen Faulkner 🇺🇸 (EF Education-Cannondale)
5 | Demi Vollering 🇳🇱 (Team SD Worx-Protime)
6 | Évita Muzic 🇫🇷 (FDJ-SUEZ)
7 | Marianne Vos 🇳🇱 (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
8 | Demi Vollering 🇳🇱 (Team SD Worx-Protime)
The Stages
Stage 1 (TTT) | Barcelona - Barcelona (8.1 km)
For the fourth year running, the Vuelta España Femenina begins with a team time trial. Barcelona will host the opening stage this year, with Valencia, Torrevieja and Marina de Cudeyo having previously hosted the team time trial.
Compared to those editions, the 8.1 kilometre length of the Barcelona circuit this year is significantly less than before. In terms of the profile, the route is flat and not very technical, meaning there will be some very high speeds reached by the teams on the road.
On a course like this, every second counts and the rider who crosses the line first for the fastest team will earn themselves a red jersey.
Stage 2 | Molins de Rei - Sant Boi de Llobregat (99 km)
The opening road stage of the race stands just shy of 100 kilometres in length and should see the sprinters shine.
Beginning in Molins de Rei, the peloton will tackle 99.9 kilometres, featuring 1,454 metres of elevation gain en route to a probable sprint finish in Sant Boi de Llobregat.
Although it’s set to be a day for the sprinters, the stage opening won’t be a welcome sight for many, since the road is uphill from the start, as the Alt de La Creu de L’Aragall awaits.
It is a second-category climb, 9 kilometres in length with an average gradient of 4.3%, but it’s the fact that it comes so early in the stage that makes it that bit more difficult.
Beyond this, there isn’t any significant climbing to mention in the remainder of the stage. Once the riders pass an intermediate sprint at kilometre 58.5, the focus of the stage will switch to the impending sprint finish expected at Sant Boi de Llobregat.
The closing kilometres feature a couple of corners, with a gentle rise in the road inside the flamme rouge, but this shouldn’t change the types of riders involved in the finale too much.
Stage 3 | Barbastro - Huesca (132.4 km)
Stage 3 is another day for the sprinters, and despite being over 30 kilometres longer than the previous stage, it is even flatter. There isn’t one categorised climb on this route, meaning that it would be a disaster for the sprint teams if we don’t see a bunch finish in Huesca.
Beginning in Barbastro, birthplace of the men’s Cofidis rider Sergio Samitier, the stage will likely be a slow-burner, with an early breakaway forming, but not much action expected in the early period of the stage beyond that.
Stage 5 of last year’s race began in Huesca and was won by Demi Vollering in an uphill finish atop the Alto del Fuerte Rapitán Jaca. This year’s stage, by comparison, should see significantly less GC action.
There’s a right-hand corner inside the final kilometre, but beyond that, this on paper, should be a dead-given stage for the sprinters in Huesca.
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