Three Canadians will line up in Barcelona on Sunday for the start of the 11th Vuelta España Femenina. Magdeleine Vallières of EF Education-Oatly, Oliva Baril of Movistar and Mara Roldan of Picnic-PostNL will take on the first Grand Tour of the 2025 Women’s WorldTour.
Vallieres was top Canadian last season in 29th, finishing two seconds faster than Baril. Last month Roldan impressed with tenth in the Amstel Gold Race. Canadian champion Baril came 12th in WorldTour Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Vallières placed 14th in La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.
Baril the national champion.
The Vuelta España Femenina started in 2015 as the one-day Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta and by 2019–when Canadian Karol-Ann Canuel finished sixth–the race was up to two stages. In its three editions as incarnation Challenge by La Vuelta it grew one stage every year–Canada’s Leah Kirchmann was fifth overall in 2020. The race’s graduation into Vuelta España Femenina made it a week long. Although it was eight stages last season, it’s back down to seven stages for 2025.
The 2025 edition will start with an 8.1-km team time trial and conclude the following Sunday with its queen stage and second summit finish.
The queen stage on Sunday, May 11 concludes the 11th editon.
Last year’s victor, Demi Vollering, is favoured to repeat as champion. She brings a very strong team that includes last year’s fourth and fifth on GC, Juliette Labous and Evita Muzic. Vollering will face stiff competition from the woman who narrowly beat her in the Tour de France, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, along with last season’s runner-up Riejanne Markus, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Anna van der Breggen and Pauliena Rooijakkers, who was on last year’s Tour de France podium.
Details of how to watch the 11th Vuelta España Femenina can be found here.