From the paradisiacal O Morrazo region, a privileged corner of the Galician coast, to the Asturian mountains, with the Angliru colossus as the final point of the new edition of the Women’s Cycling Toura test that was presented this Monday at the Municipal Auditorium of Ribeira.
The tour, conducive to climbers, It will consist of seven stages marked by mid-mountain and two high finishes with very demanding slopes, Les Praeres and the aforementioned Angliru, with ramps above 20 percent gradient. The Vuelta will be held from May 3 to 9 and can be seen on RTVE.
Galicia will host the first four stages with 450 kilometers of constant ups and downs summarized in the almost 8,000 meters of positive slope that the cyclists will have to overcome.
Home in Galicia
The women’s Tour will start from Marín with a demanding 113 kilometer stage that will end in Salvaterra de Miño, after ascending two 3rd category passes (Alto do Cruceiro and Alto da Portela) and passing through Ponteareas, land of illustrious cyclists such as the brothers Delio and Manuel Rodríguez and Álvaro Pino.
The second, 109 kilometers that will join Lobios and San Cibrao das Viñasin Ourense, include difficulties both along their route and in the final third, which, a priori, will prevent a mass arrival at the finish line.
The The best opportunity for the sprinters will come on the third day, between Padrón and A Coruñawith a flat finish in the Herculean city after 121 kilometers. Because the next day, still in Galicia, the finish in Antas de Ulla (Lugo) will already tip upwards.
Another provincial capital, León will host the start of the fifth stage. A priori, it will be the easiest of the entire week because its 119 kilometers do not present major orographic difficulties. But in Castilla there is always the threat of the wind.
Asturias will decide again
However, the winner of the Vuelta will almost certainly be defined in Asturias. On Friday, May 8, the platoon must undertake the ascent to Les Praeresa very demanding climb, 3.85 kilometers long and with an average gradient of 13 percent and extremely hard ramps that reach 20 percent.
The next day, The grand finale of La Vuelta Femenina 26 will take place at Angliru, one of the most spectacular peaks in world cycling, remembered by fans for the triumph of ‘Chava’ Jiménez in the fog in 1999, or the battle between João Almeida and Jonas Vingegaard in last year’s edition.
On its very tough slopes, with maximums of 23% and an average of 9.7% along 12.4 kilometers of agonizing ascent from Riosa, you may witness another triumph for Demi Vollering, overall winner in the last two editions, or a climber who will succeed her.
Escartín “We want the race to be exciting”
The race director, Fernando Escartín, was the first to be convinced that this year’s winner will be decided in the Asturian mountains.
“With this route we want the race to be exciting. We all see that people like the mountains, the high finishes, the spectacle and that the race is tight until the end. Here we have looked for a terrain of attrition at the beginning and, above all, so that the general classification can be resolved in Asturias”he pointed out.
The former cyclist said he is convinced that the end of the race at Angliru will be “spectacular” because He “has no doubt” that the cyclists “are going to climb it and they are going to climb it very well”. “Women’s cycling is increasing at a very high level, they go very fast and they are champions. If the men’s cycling goes up, the women’s has to go up. It will be a very hard climb,” said Escartín, who announced that “very good” riders will come.
Sandra Alonso: “The finish in L’Angliru will make history in women’s cycling”
For Sandra Alonso, who returned to the professional peloton with the Spanish team after recently becoming a mother, this route “will make history” in women’s cycling with its finale in Angliru.
“It will be a day to remember because it will make history in women’s cycling. It is very nice that we can finally put the name of a woman at the top of the Angliru,” said the woman from Alicante during the presentation of the La Vuelta Femenina 2026 at the Ribeira Municipal Auditorium.
Alonso, who is still looking for a team for this season, ve a Vollering capaz de igualar a su compatriot Annemiek van Vleutenwinner of the race three times.
“If not this year it will be another because she is a very ambitious runner, that he is in his best moment and that he wants to break all records,” said Alonso.
