Women's Tour of the Basque Country 2024: the most important facts in brief
- Date: 10 to 12 May 2024
- Distance~ 360 kilometres
- Start: Vitoria-Gasteiz, GoalSan Sebastian
- Profilethree hilly stages
- UCI category: Women's World Tour
- OrganiserOCETA
- Premiere: 2022, 3rd edition
- Last year's winnerMarlen Reusser
For men, the Tour of the Basque Country is one of the most traditional races on the calendar. This is the third time the women have organised the three-stage tour. Last year, Marlen Reusser won ahead of her SD-Worx team-mate Demi Vollering. The duo won all three stages between them, Vollering won the first two and Reusser won the third with a long solo. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) finished third in the overall standings.
The favourites for the women's Tour of the Basque Country: Vollering plans next tour victory
The trio will be at the start again this year - as will half of the top 10 of the Vuelta Femenina, which ended last weekend. Due to the absence of Visma | Lease a Bike, Vuelta runner-up Riejanne Markus is missing, as is Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) in third place.
It is therefore clear that Vollering will once again start the race as the top favourite. Reusser was not quite in the same form as last year in Spain and is more likely to play second or third fiddle for SD Worx, especially as the team is again travelling with Niamh Fisher-Black, who finished seventh in the Vuelta. On paper, Niewiadoma is one of Vollering's biggest rivals, but left the Vuelta due to illness. Whether she is back to 100 per cent remains to be seen. But in Ricarda Bauernfeind, who finished the Tour of Spain in sixth place, Canyon once again has a strong second rider at the start who can easily become the team's number one.
Shirin van Anrooij is likely to play the leading role in Lidl-Trek. The young Dutchwoman did not take part in the Vuelta. However, the shorter climbs in the Basque Country should suit her. Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), who were also top 10 at the Vuelta, should also have shares in the outcome of the race.
Women's Tour of the Basque Country 2024 - this is the route
There are three stages in total, covering around 360 kilometres. They are all hilly, with a mini mountain finish on the second. The profile of stage 3 is reminiscent of the men's Clasica San Sebastian. The day, which begins and ends in the city, leads over the two well-known mountains of the classic, Jaizkibel and Mendizorrotz. There will be no big gaps on any of the days, which is why the overall classification will probably only be finalised on the last day.
Stage 1 | Friday, 10 May | Vitoria-Gasteiz - Elgoibar | 140 kilometres
Stage 2 | Saturday, 11 May | Basauri - Basauri | 104 kilometres
Stage 3 | Sunday, 12 May | San Sebastian - San Sebastian | 114.9 kilometres
Women's Tour of the Basque Country 2024: TV coverage and live stream
The women's Tour of the Basque Country will not be shown on German television. Instead, Discovery Plus will provide a live stream. All three stages will be broadcast between 12.30pm and 2pm.
