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  "description": "... but she will be up against Van der Breggen, Ferrand-Prévot, and Blasi for the title.",
  "path": "/preview-niewiadoma-phinney-headlines-the-favorites-for-la-vuelta-femenina/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-01T15:50:12.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "tags": [
    "Preview: Your stage-by-stage guide to the 2026 Vuelta FemeninaA closer look at all seven stages on the route of the first week-long stage race of 2026.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey",
    "stage-by-stage guide",
    "here",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "Cor Vos\n\nOn the heels of a wicked Classics season, women's cycling now turns its attention to the first European stage race of the year: La Vuelta Femenina. It will test the peloton over seven stages, two of which will test the strongest climbers in the bunch – but every stage matters when the general classification is the goal.\n\nHeadlining the Vuelta this year is none other than 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. The Polish champion is coming off an incredible run in the Classics, even with a crash at Milan-San Remo that took her out of the Tour of Flanders. She podiumed in two of the Ardennes races that concluded her spring campaign. Can she finally take a win at the Vuelta?\n\nPreview: Your stage-by-stage guide to the 2026 Vuelta FemeninaA closer look at all seven stages on the route of the first week-long stage race of 2026.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey\n\nNiewiadoma-Phinney may be the top favourite, but the next tier down is packed. Anna van der Breggen, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and everyone's new favourite contender Paula Blasi all have what it takes to win the race overall. The real question is: Who has the team to back them?\n\nMeanwhile, the list of stagehunters taking on the Vuelta is also a star-studded one, with Lotte Kopecky and Marianne Vos leading the way. They will have plenty of opportunities to shine over the first several days of the race.\n\nAssuming you've already had a look at our stage-by-stage guide, here is everything you need to know about the big names taking on the 2026 Vuelta Femenina ...\n\n## The Escape Collective GC star ratings:\n\n⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney\n⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Paula Blasi, Anna van der Breggen, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot\n⭐️⭐️⭐️: Juliette Berthet\n⭐️⭐️: Riejanne Markus, Femke de Vries\n⭐️: Urska Zigart, Monica Trinca Colonel, Sarah Van Dam, Evita Muzic, Cédrine Kerbaol, Nienke Vinke, Maeva Squiban, Noemi Rüegg\n\nThe full start list is available here.\n\n## The favorite\n\nNiewiadoma-Phinney doesn't win often, but when she does, it's epic. Not only because she seems to single out major races, but also because her victories seem to come after a series of near misses.\n\nWhen the Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto rider won La Flèche Wallonne in 2024, she hadn't won a WorldTour race since the fourth stage of the Tour of Britain in 2019. Her only major win prior to the Flèche win was at the Gravel World Championships. Going into the Mur de Huy, Niewiadoma-Phinney had finished fourth at Strade Bianche and second at the Tour of Flanders. The form was there, the win was coming. That victory opened the gates for Niewiadoma-Phinney to win the Tour de France Femmes later in the summer, to date the biggest win of her career.\n\nNiewiadoma-Phinney at Liège-Bastogne-Liège\n\nThis season, Niewiadoma-Phinney has been on a tear, though the only time she has had the privilege of actually raising her arms in victory since 2024 was at the Polish national championships last year. Still, this year she's racked up a list of \"almosts\". Second at the Omloop Nieuwsblad, second at Strade Bianche, second at the Amstel Gold Race, fourth at Flèche, and third at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. There is no question of her form.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Preview: Niewiadoma-Phinney headlines the favorites for La Vuelta Femenina",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-01T15:50:16.152Z"
}