Vuelta Femenina | Will Demi Vollering settle with Longo Borghini for Spanish revenge? A preview

Last year there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Vuelta Femenina. Demi Vollering initially seemed on her way to taking over from Annemiek van Vleuten, but later in the round Van Vleuten hit back and took over the red.

However, the manner in which it was done caused quite a stir, as Van Vleuten and her Movistar team launched an attack exactly when Vollering was taking a bathroom break. Afterwards there was a lot of complaint about this.

Ultimately, Van Vleuten held his ground in the last stage, which Vollering won by a big margin. Van Vleuten, however, had just enough margin with just nine seconds. Van Vleuten has now retired and so there will definitely be a new winner in Spain this year.

The Vuelta starts in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain with a time trial through the streets of Valencia. In the flat battle against the clock of 16 kilometers, the first small differences in the rankings will be made.

This is followed by two hill stages. Stage 2 is 118 kilometers long and has 966 elevation meters and a day later it is 131 kilometers with 2,285. The attackers will see their chance here before a sprint stage is scheduled on day four.

In stage 5 of 113 kilometers, the peloton heads towards the Pyrenees and the climbers are featured for the first time. The finish of the fifth stage is on top of the Alto del Fuerte Rapitan of the second category. The number of elevation meters is 2,121.

The classification riders are not yet going to make any major differences here, but there is a good chance that the public will get an idea of ​​the balance of power for the first time. The climb of the first category La Laguna Negra, in stage six, will probably provide a better battle. This 132 kilometer ride with an elevation gain of 1,953 meters is very difficult, especially at the end.

However, the real focus of this Vuelta Femenina lies in the final weekend. The penultimate stage to Sigüenza can surprise. The ride is largely flat, but the punch finish can ensure that a number of explosive riders try to gain some time.

In the eighth stage on Sunday, May 5, everyone must put their cards on the table. First the climb of the Col de la Morcuera awaits, after which the even tougher Valdesquí awaits. The ride around Madrid is more like 89 kilometers long, but has an elevation gain of 2,162 meters.

Demi Vollering is considered the absolute top favorite to win the Vuelta Femenina a year after the drama against Annemiek van Vleuten. So far, Vollering has not had a top year. The Dutch woman has not yet won a race, but will not worry about that in the run-up to the Vuelta. A Grand Tour should give her an advantage over Longo Borghini, the woman of this spring with plenty of victories and impressive performances.

The biggest competition probably comes from Elisa Longo Borghini and Katarzyna Niewiadoma. The Italian and Polish riders are strong uphill and Niewiadoma proved this last year by finishing third in the Tour de France Femmes. As an outsider, the French Juliette Labous, who finished fifth in the same Tour de France Femmes, must be taken into account.

For the sprint stage, one should especially look at the Danish Emma Norsgaard. Furthermore, Barbara Guarischi is quickly at the finish line and the same applies to the young Charlotte Kool and Maike van der Duin.

The time trial can also be a spectacle, because many of the greatest riders in this field are present in Spain. As a former European champion, Marlen Reusser is the favorite and a lot can also be expected from Riejanne Markus and Grace Brown.

In addition to Vollering, Markus, Kool and Van der Duin, there are seven other Dutch riders on the provisional start list. Mareille Meijering drives on behalf of Movistar in a serving role and European champion Mischa Bredewold will probably try as much as possible to support Demi Vollering.

At Team DSM-firmenich-PostNL we see Nienke Vinke and Daniek Hengeveld on the starting list, while Ilse Pluimers, Thalita de Jong and Silke Smulders go to Spain on behalf of AG Insurance – Soudal, Lotto-Dstny and Liv AlUla-Jayco.