Preview: Can Bredewold win Itzulia Women overall with Vollering absent?
This weekend, Itzulia Women once again features an exciting stage race on the Women's WorldTour calendar. In the Basque Country, the riders will face three tough stages with plenty of elevation. Can Mischa Bredewold take the overall victory this year? WielerFlits looks ahead.
How did last year’s Women's Tour of the Basque Country go?
Last year, Itzulia Women was a big celebration for Mischa Bredewold and Demi Vollering. Bredewold sprinted to victory twice in the first two stages, then started the final stage over the Jaizkibel and Mendizorrotz as the race leader. In that decisive stage, Bredewold had to concede to Vollering, who broke away from the group of favorites on the Mendizorrotz and finished in San Sebastian with nearly a minute lead over her rivals. This secured a genuine one-two finish for the FDJ United-Suez rider.
Bredewold finished seventh in that stage, maintaining her second place in the general classification. Sarah Van Dam, now riding for Visma | Lease a Bike, completed the podium as the last rider to join after placing in the top five in all three stages.
What does the route of the Women's Tour of the Basque Country look like?
The Tour of the Basque Country in 2026 is considerably tougher than the previous year. Whereas the first stages in 2025 ended in sprints, that is not guaranteed this year. Each stage finishes with a climb, promising three days of fireworks in the fight for the general classification.
On Friday, the riders head to Zarautz, where the final ten kilometers include the climb of the Garate (4.6 km at 4.8%, with an average final kilometer of 8%). On Saturday, there is an uncategorized climb of almost two kilometers at 5.5% and the Aretxabalgane (4.6 km at 5.1%). The queen stage is the same as in 2025 when the Jaizkibel and the Mendizorrotz (6.4 km at 5.3%) had to be conquered.
Who are the favorites?
With Demi Vollering absent, opting this year for the Giro d'Italia Women, Itzulia Women will have a new winner. But who will it be? We hesitate between riders with a strong sprint finish like Mischa Bredewold and Liane Lippert and strong climbers like Juliette Berthet and Magdaleine Vallières. Looking at previous years, we would generally favor the stronger climbers. However, Vallières is not yet at the level of Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, or Marlen Reusser. So we wonder if riders like Bredewold and Lippert will be dropped next week.
Yes, the climbs of Garate and Aretxabalgane in the finales of stages one and two are tough, but last year Bredewold was also 'just' good in the queen stage. The rider from Amersfoort came out of La Vuelta Femenina in good shape, where she also took a stage win. If Bredewold can sprint for the time bonuses in the first two stages, she will start the final stage of Itzulia in a strong position. Then much is possible, even against Berthet and Vallières.
That one of these four names will take the win in the Basque Country is by no means certain though. Other contenders include Karlijn Swinkels, who had a less successful Vuelta, and Yara Kastelijn as well. In Belgium, many will eagerly watch the performance of Justine Ghekiere, who returns to racing after her crash at Milan-San Remo nearly two months ago. A special name to watch this week is Usoa Ostolaza, who after finishing fourth in La Vuelta will try to reach the podium on home roads.
