From Thursday to Sunday, the women of the WorldTour will be competing for a Tour victory in Spain for the last time this year. The Vuelta a Burgos 2026 will also be the final endurance test for the upcoming Tour of Italy. While the big favourites are training at altitude once again, many pros are using the four-day tour as their final preparation for the Giro d'Italia. Mischa Bredewold, the winner of the Tour of the Basque Country, which ended a few days ago, is also taking part. At the Vuelta a Burgos, the riders will again find undulating terrain, but there are likely to be two sprint finishes in this Spanish tour.
The favourites for the Vuelta a Burgos
This is another reason why the best female sprinters in the world are at the start of the four-day Tour of Burgos. Lorena Wiebes, Elisa Balsamo, Chiara Consonni, Clara Copponi and Ally Wollaston will probably split the first two stages between them, but other women from the WorldTour will compete for the overall victory.
The aforementioned Mischa Bredewold is looking particularly strong at the moment, having won the Tour of the Basque Country and arriving at the start with plenty of confidence. While her team-mate Wiebes is the big favourite on the sprint stages, Bredewold could impress on undulating terrain. However, the uphill finish in Lagunas de Neila could be a little too steep for the Dutchwoman with an average gradient of 10 per cent.
For Dominika Włodarczyk, on the other hand, stages three and four could come at just the right time. She won two out of three stages at the Tour of the Basque Country, but was unable to snatch the leader's jersey from Bredewold. However, she looks even stronger on the more difficult climbs and could therefore show in the finale of the last day that she can be a real leader for her team UAE ADQ. For the FDJ United - Suez team, Évita Muzic has the best chance of making the difference on the Lagunas de Neila climb. Usually scheduled as a helper, she has a free ride here.
Yara Kastelijn arrives at the Vuelta a Burgos in similarly strong form to Bredewold and Włodarczyk. She finished second in the Basque Country, the short and tough climbs suit her. Kastelijn has yet to win a stage race, so this would be her debut.
Or a surprise after all?
In the second row of favourites are riders like Cédrine Kerbaol. The Frenchwoman won a stage at the Vuelta a Espana, but rode too inconsistently for the overall classification and on the Angliru. However, she is good for a surprise, as there is only one difficult climb in the Tour of Burgos. While the aforementioned riders have already started in Spain in the past few days, Mie Bjørndal Ottestad is coming to the Vuelta a Burgos with fresh legs. However, there is a big question mark over her, as it is difficult to predict her current condition. Just like Kerbaol, however, she could really shake up the overall classification.
Local heroine Usoa Ostolaza has heavy expectations to carry on her shoulders. A strong fourth place at the Vuelta a Espana and seventh place at the Tour of the Basque Country have left Spanish fans hoping for more. They had secretly dreamed of even better placings beforehand, and Ostolaza can now make that a reality. The chances are not bad, but she will have to fight for a podium place.
Leon Weidner
Working student
