Date: Sunday, April 28 - Sunday, May 5, 2024
Start: Valencia
Finish: Madrid
Total distance: 867km
Stages: Eight
Defending champion: Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar)
This is the second year of the revamped Vuelta Femenina by Carrefore.es having been renamed in 2023. Originally a one-day race, it has grown over time extending from one day to five days, and this year it has been extended again to be a total of eight stages overall – one more than last year’s edition. The total distance for this year’s Vuelta Femenina will be 867 kilometres, making it the second-longest women’s race behind the Tour de France Femmes.
When the race first began in 2015, it used to coincide with the men’s Vuelta a Epsaña. The race organisers have since then decided that the women’s Spanish ‘Grand Tour’ should be a race of its own, and it’s now held in May – three months before the men’s race in August/September.
The first winner to take the title was the now-retired Shelley Olds. Since then we’ve seen the likes of Jolien d’Hoore, EIlen Van Dijk, Lisa Brennauer, and Annemiek van Vleuten stand atop the podium for this race.
The lineup for this year's edition is yet to be fully announced but there have been a few confirmed names. On the start list for Lidl-Trek is pure climber Gaia Realini and 2024 Tour of Flanders champion Elisa Longo Borghini. SD Worx-Protime are bringing last year’s second-place rider, Demi Vollering, Canyon//SRAM will have Tour de France stage winner Ricarda Bauernfeind, and Liv Alula Jayco are set to bring Mavi García.
Now regarded as one of the most important races in the Women’s WorldTour calendar, it attracts the world’s best riders to the start line, all looking to take glory on the Spanish roads.
La Vuelta Femenina 2024 teams list:
- Movistar
- Lidl-Trek
- Canyon//SRAM
- Visma-Lease a Bike
- SD Worx-Protime
- Roland
- UAE Team ADQ
- FDJ-Suez
- Team dsm-fermenich PostNL
- EF Education-Cannondale
- AG Insurance-Soudal Team
- Lotto Dstny Ladies
- Fenix-Deceuninck
- Human Powered Health
- Liv Alula Jayco
- Bepink-Bongioanni
- Eneicat-CMTeam
- Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi
- Team Coop-Repsol
- VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
- Winspace
La Vuelta Femenina 2024 route:
This year’s edition will start with a team time trial around the city of Valencia. The 16km circuit is completely flat, and teams will be able to go all out for this explosive start. Stage two is 118.5km and will most likely be decided with a bunch sprint as there is only one category three climb, L’Oronet, just after the halfway mark. But once the riders have reached the climb’s summit, it is downhill from there until the line.
Stage three is a rising day as the women’s peloton will have to overcome more than 2,000m of climbing, possibly ruling out the chances of a sprint finish. The stage features another category three climb, Fuente de Rubielos, which is 6.1km long with an average gradient of 6.2%. This climb was in the 2023 edition of the men’s Vuelta a España on a stage won by Sepp Kuss, who went on to win the overall.
Contrary to the previous stage, stage four is a route fit for those with fast legs. Starting in Molina de Aragón, there is little for the riders to contend with in terms of elevation, however, other factors, such as wind, may come into play instead. Stage five is the first mountain stage with a summit finish in Jaca. The stage starts in Huesca and features two categorised climbs – Alto del Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña and Alto del Fuerte Raptain, where the finish line is situated. The final climb will be where the favourites fight for victory as the climb to the finish line is 3.4km with a biting average gradient of 7.9%.
Route map sourced via La Vuelta Femenina's website
After a summit finish, stage six is a relatively flat day for the peloton. However, it does slope up towards the finish line with another summit finish at La Laguna Negra – a familiar climb in the men’s Grand Tour – which is 6.5km in length and has an average gradient of 6.8%. We expect to see the favourites once again try and gain as much time on their rivals on this climb, or a breakaway artist could dig deep on the climb’s steepest ramps to claim the stage victory.
Stage seven is the race’s final flat stage from San Esteban de Gormaz to Sigüenza. However, while the main bulk of the stage has little to contend with, the stage features a complicated finale which may dampen the chances of any sprinters who lack any punchy climbing abilities as they’ll be faced with short ramps of eight to 10% in the final 500 metres.
The final stage of the race may be the shortest road stage on the race’s parcours, but it is one of the hardest, with two category-one climbs packed into just 89km of racing. The first of the two climbs is the Puerto de la Morcuera Desnivel, which is 9.1km long with a gradient of 6.8%, and the second (the third summit finish of the race) is 12.8km long with an average gradient of 4.8%. It will be an exciting stage, especially if there are small gaps between the top GC contenders.
Stage one: Valencia - Valencia / 16km (TTT)
Stage two: Buñol/Bunyol - Moncofa / 118.5km
Stage three: Lucena/Llucena - Teruel / 130.5km
Stage four: Molina de Aragón - Zaragoza / 142.5km
Stage five: Huesca - Jaca / 114km
Stage six: Tarazone - La Laguna Negra. Vinuesa / 132.5km
Stage seven: San Esteban de Gormaz - Sigüenza / 139km
Stage eight: Distrito Telegónica - Valdesquí. Comunidad de Madrid / 89.5km
