Tomorrow starts a new stage race in Spain, the Itzulia Women. After our participation in La Vuelta a España Femenina and, yesterday, in the Navarra Womens Classic, we return to the competition.
The race has three stages. The first, of 140 kilometres, starts in Vitoria-Gasteiz and finishes in Elgoibar. On this route, the riders will have to climb the third category pass of Olatea (1.9km at 9%); second category, Azkarate (4.2km at 7.3%) and again, third category, Itziar (7.1km at 2.8%). There will also be two special sprints in Elgoibar and Deba.
The second day, on Saturday, starts and finishes in Basauri. It is the shortest of all, only 104 kilometres, but with several climbs in between, such as Sarasola Gaina, and Aretxabalgane Gaina, both third category, and finally, Urruztigaina, second category. From there the route becomes favourable and there will still be two intermediate sprints in Garakaldo and Basauri.
Finally, the race finishes on Sunday in Donostia-San Sebastián. The last stage is 115 kilometres long and has three well-known climbs in the Basque Country. The first of the day will be Jaizkibel, first category, which will give way to Gurutze, second category, and finally and just like the previous one, Mendizorrotz. From there the cyclists will have approximately 15 kilometres to the finish line.
Our team for this event will consist of: Tamara Dronova, Elena Pirrone, Anna Kiesenhofer, Sylvie Swinkels and Nathalie Eklund.