Last year ended with Demi Vollering first, in front of Rjejanne Markus and Elisa Longo Borghini. The Dutchman from Team SD Worx dominated the Vuelta Espana with relative ease, lining up the victories of a sensational springBetween May 10 (the date of the end of the Vuelta) and June 15, she won the Itzulia Women's cycling, the Vuelta a Burgos and the Tour de SuisseToo much hay in the barn, fate probably thought, and henceforth relegated her second in the Tour de France and the Romandie and fifth in the world championship.
Vollering had already announced that he would change teams and On October 28th, one month after the World Championships in Zurich, the official announcement arrived signature at FDJ-Suez with Specialized by his side.
FDJ-Suez Super Tris
A year later, Vollering is back at it again. And although Delcourt's French team has stated its sights are (almost) only on the Tour de France, it will field the best of the best. Vollering, precisely, Labous and Muzic: the three forwards in great formThe Tour is fine, they may have thought, but in the meantime let's move on.
«Last year, everyone was amazed – Muzic said – by the fact that I managed to beat Demi on the climb of Laguna Negra (sixth stage, ed.). It was an enlightening experience, because it showed how far I could go.There was a question mark over my participation this year, but I asked to be there because it really matters to me. Sharing it with Demi and Juliette Labous is very exciting for me.».
Seven stages in Northern Spain
The Vuelta Espana Femenina was not there, unlike the Giro and the Tour which may have had interruptions, but have a decades-long history behind them. When it was born in 2016, the Vuelta was a one-day event: the Madrid Challenge by La VueltaIt increased to 2 days of racing in the next two years, became 3 in 2020, when it became the Challenge by La Vuelta, then 4 in 2021. In 2022 the stages increased to 5 and from 2023 the number reached 7: a big step forward and another achievement for girls' cycling.
However, 7 stages are not enough to explore a country as large as Spain, so la Vuelta Femenina 2025 is a race that doesn't go south, but it remains at a more or less constant longitude for the seven stages it comprises. The only time trial is the opening team time trial, and then, as always, the climbs will decide the outcome.
| Date | tappa | Departure-Arrival | Km |
| 4st May | 1nd stage | Barcelona-Barcelona (team time trial) | 8,1 |
| 5st May | 2nd stage | Molins de Rei-Sant Boi de Llobregat | 99 |
| 6st May | 3nd stage | Barbastro-Huesca | 132,4 |
| 7st May | 4nd stage | Pedrola-Borja | 111,6 |
| 8st May | 5nd stage | Golmayo-Lagunas de Neila | 120,4 |
| 9st May | 6nd stage | Becerril de Campos-Baltanás | 126,7 |
| 10st May | 7nd stage | La Robla-Cotobello, Asturias | 152,6 |
| Total km | 750,8 |
Team time trials in Barcelona
La Vuelta Femenina 2025 will start on Sunday from Barcelona with an 8-kilometer team time trial. It was the same last year and the victory of the Lidl Trek handed the leader's jersey to Gaia Realini. The Catalan capital had already hosted the Vuelta in 2023 and will host the 2026 Tour, also with team events. In fact, for some years now, the regional administration has seen the bicycle is a key means of tourism and sustainability.
Also this time, the route will take the teams and the shots to some of the most representative monumentsThe time trial will start just outside Casa Milà, known as "La Pedrera" (a building designed by Antoni Gaudí), and will round the halfway point in front of the gardens of the Palacio de Pedralbes. The athletes will likely not have time to look around. The route is in fact challenging and will require maximum concentration.
Between wind and tears in Aragon
The second stage takes the riders from Molins de Rei to Sant Boi de Llobregat. A tough climb at the start, the Alto de la Creu de L'Aragall, offers a golden opportunity to break away.
The wind will be a determining factor in the third stage from Barbastro to Huesca, promising fans or crazy speeds, depending on its direction.
We will then enter Aragon with the stage from Pedrola to Borja, with the climbs of Moncayo and El Buste, a springboard before the descent to the finish line.
Grand finale in Cotobello
The fifth stage opens the doors to the climbers, with the interlude of the sixth which ends in Baltanás, offering a golden opportunity for the sprinters.
The fifth, it was said, goes from Golmayo to Lagunas de Neila, a key climb in the Vuelta a Burgos and the Vuelta a Pro.The seventh stage instead heads towards Asturias with the start in La Robla and the arrival in Cotobello: 152 kilometers with three climbs in the second half of the stageThe Alto de la Colladona, the Alto de la Colladiella and the very tough Cotobello, for a total of 2.500 meters of altitude difference, which are a record for the stages of the Vuelta Espana Femenina.
Nothing is taken for granted. The technical meeting tomorrow morning will finalize the starting list. which also sees the winner of the 2024 Tour at the start Unknown, the Italian Ciabocco, Magnaldi, Bourgeois, Trinca Colonel, Marturano and Paternoster, as well as Marianne Vos and the winner of the Roubaix Ferrand-Prevot.
As happened with the men until 1994 (in 1995 the Spanish race moved to September), the Vuelta in spring struggles to have all the best riders at the start, especially since is back the Tour de France Women's cycling shifting all attention later in the summer, but there's still an opportunity to complete a large block of WorldTour races in Spain. And to fill the first box, leaving the others to make the next move.
