2022 will see the seventh edition of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, a Women’s WorldTour race run by A.S.O, the organisers of the men’s Vuelta a España. Unlike the men’s peloton who race for three weeks, the women’s event spans five days and begins on the 7th of September 2022.
While it’s a long way off being classified as a Grand Tour, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta is an event which has been growing year on year. The first three editions were just a one-day race, until the organisation extended it to a two-day event in 2018 and 2019, before lengthening it to three days in 2020, four days in 2021, and five days in 2022. The route of the inaugural five-day event is exciting and varied, with opportunities for both climbers and sprinters. Like in the men’s Vuelta a España, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta race kicks off with a team time trial in Marina de Cudeyo – a rarity in the women’s WorldTour – and this will determine who wears the first red jersey of the race.
Once the race against the clock is complete, the Vuelta organisers haven’t wasted any time in sending the riders to the mountains. Stage two takes in two first category climbs, so we will see the GC favourites emerge early on in the race. The third stage is a mountainous one too, while stage four is the longest in the event’s history with a summit finish after 160km. The race concludes with a sprint stage on the roads of Madrid, coinciding with the 21st stage of the men’s La Vuelta a España.
Last year’s edition of this race was won by Dutch climbing superstar Annemiek van Vleuten after she took victory in the ITT and on the third stage in the mountains. Van Vleuten is returning to defend her title at the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 2022, attempting to take victory and do the ‘triple’, as she has already won the Giro d’Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femmes so far this season. One of the only things that could hinder the Dutchwoman in her pursuit of a second consecutive Vuelta win is the opening TTT – Movistar are not known to be well-drilled in this discipline.
Here’s everything you need to know about the route of the 2022 Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta.
CERATIZIT CHALLENGE BY LA VUELTA 2022 – THE STAGES
CERATIZIT CHALLENGE BY LA VUELTA 2022, STAGE ONE (07/09): MARINA DE CUDEYO > MARINA DE CUDEYO TTT (19.9KM)
The opening stage of this year’s women’s Vuelta a España is a team time trial. These are a rare…