Published February 22, 2023 05:05AM
Report: La Vuelta Femenina could finish on Lagos de Covadonga
Official news on the seven-day race has been scarce but rumors have surfaced of the race's toughest-ever parcours.
Annemiek van Vleuten won the 2022 Challenge by La Vuelta (Photo: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
The revamped La Vuelta Femenina could be decided with a finish at Lagos de Covadonga.
According to a report by Spanish cycling website Sprint Final, the seven-day race will go up the iconic climb in Asturias on the final day.
The website also reports that it will start in Torrevieja with a 14-kilometer time trial, and features another uphill finish on the Mirador de Riaza. There will be some long transfers as the race looks set to traverse the length of Spain.
Little has been confirmed about the route of the Vuelta Femenina, despite it being set to take place in May. The lack of information from the organizer has received criticism from the women’s peloton.
Also read:
- Vuelta Femenina to start on Costa Blanca
- Carrefour takes over title sponsorship of rebranded La Vuelta Femenina
- Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta rebrands as La Vuelta Femenina for 2023
Thus far, the only official news about the 2023 route is that it will start on the Costa Blanca.
ADVERTISEMENT
The report by Sprint Final tallies with that news, with the opening 14km time trial in Torrevieja. A second day in the region is also expected with a 105km jaunt from Orihuela to Pila de la Horadada.
Stages 3 and 4 will, according to the website, head to the Castilla-La Mancha region and will feature finales in La Roda and Guadalajara.
The first real contest between the climbers will come on the fifth day of racing, with the race now just north of Madrid, and the finale on the Mirador de Riaza. A 107km medium mountain day between Castro Urdiales and Laredo will follow.
After what is certainly already the most challenging route ever put on for the Spanish race, the peloton will head along the coast for the finish at Lagos de Covagonda. The stunning mountain top finish has been regularly visited by the men’s Vuelta a España since its debut in 1983.
Winners on the climb include Primož Roglič, Thibaut Pinot, Pedro Delgado, and Lucho Herrera. The 16km ascent has an average gradient of around seven percent with a maximum of 22 percent.
ADVERTISEMENT
It will be a huge test for the peloton and is likely to produce some major changes in the overall classification on the final day of action.