La Vuelta a España Femenina by Carrefour.es

After the end of the spring classics last Sunday in the Liège Bastogne Liège, it is time to face new challenges in the stage races that await us in May, starting with our first big tour of the calendar, La Vuelta a España femenina by Carrefour.es.

The race has grown by one day compared to last year, now we will have eight days of competition starting next Sunday 28th in Valencia.
The first stage will consist of a TTT stage of 16 kilometres, a first test to start the race. On the second day we will have the first road stage between Buñol and Moncófar of 118.5 kilometres, with only one climb and where a sprint finish is planned. The third day of the race, the 130.2 kilometres between Lucena and Teruel, will be a little more hilly. On Wednesday we will again have an ‘easy’ stage with possibilities for the sprinters at the finish in Zaragoza after 142.3 kilometres.

From the fifth day we start to encounter the mountains. On Thursday the stage will be 113.9 kilometres long and will finish at the Alto del Fuerte Rapitán, and it could be the first day where the differences in the general classification will open up. As on Friday, with the finish at La Laguna Negra, a single-track stage but with a climb of +1,200m, so the altitude could be the key.

The sprinters who resist in the race on Saturday will have a chance of a sprint if the wind does not appear in the stage that finishes in Sigüenza with 138.6 kilometres. Finally, if the general classification has not been decided in the previous days, on Sunday we will have a spectacle in Valdesquí, a finish already known from La Vuelta. Only 89 kilometres, but very tough with the passes through La Morcuera and the finish in Valdesquí.

A Vuelta a España in which we will participate with: Tamara Dronova, Maggie Coles-Lyster, Anna Kiesenhofer, Elena Hartmann, Antri Christoforou, Giorgia Vettorello and Natalie Grinczer.

Our main goal will be to compete for sprint stage wins with our Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster and to look for the chance in the mountain stages with several riders. Tamara Dronova will be our trump card for the general classification as she can show a lot of consistency throughout the week.