Wheel Talk Newsletter: No time to dwell on the Classics!

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It seems like every year when we get to the end of the Spring Classics it's hard to imagine a string of races that could be any better. In a way, it feels like a lifetime ago when Demi Vollering crossed the finish line first at the Omloop Nieuwsblad, and it's funny to think the Classics block ended just how it started, and yet so much happened in between. New names took historic titles, seasoned domestiques rose to the top, and the best rider in the world reclaimed her title with unlimited panache.

Now, we move on to Stage Race Season, where a lot of the same riders are hoping to feature, but with race after race, even more can go wrong and every year a new crop of riders announces itself to the scene.

Today's newsletter will be brief, as there is a lot to come from the women's cycling side of Escape Collective this week. Get excited. I know I am.

First things first: How to prepare for the last Spring Classic of the year...

with Cédrine Kerbaol.

Racing continues...

At La Vuelta!

On the heels of the Ardennes Classics, some of the top climbers will take on the first European WorldTour stage race of the year. La Vuelta Femenina remains only seven stages, but it is still on the longer side for the women (it was eight in 2024). Defending champion Demi Vollering is not set to race as she gears up for the Giro d'Italia, but Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who had an incredible run this spring, is on the very incomplete startlist.

Here is a very brief rundown of the basic information, with more coming on Escape Collective later in the week.

When : Sunday, May 3 to Saturday, May 9 (seven stages)

Where : Marín to L'Angliru, Spain (815 km)

Live coverage : 🇦🇺 SBS AEST, 🇪🇺 HBOMax, 🇬🇧HBOMax, 🇺🇸🇨🇦 FloBikes

*Live coverage times vary, and I will cover each stage's timing in the route preview.

The favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Paula Blasi, Isabella Holmgren, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Anna van der Breggen ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Femke de Vries ⭐️⭐️: Juliette Berthet ⭐️: Urska Zigart, Monica Trinca Colonel

A full start list is not available yet, and I will cover all the riders to watch in a contenders preview coming later this week. You can find the start list here_._

The route

I mean... the stage everyone will be looking forward to the most (or the least, depending on who you are) is stage 7 to L'Angliru.

But stage 6 also packs a punch.

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