CANYON//SRAM Racing reveals its lineup for La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es. The team heads into the eight-day stage race on the back of a successful spring classics campaign and brings a mix of youth and experience and contenders for sprint and GC stages.

The lineup: Zoe Bäckstedt, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Neve Bradbury, Justyna Czapla, Antonia Niedermaier, Kasia Niewiadoma and Maike van der Duin.

It’s a La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es debut for Zoe, Jystna, Neve, Antonia and Maike, paying testament to their development. Between the five debutants, they’ve already tasted success on the World Tour scene with a stage win at the 2023 Giro d’Italia Donne for Antonia, leading the Best Young Rider classification at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift for Maike, winning the Best Young Rider classification at Simac Ladies Tour for Zoe, and second in the general classification at the 2024 UAE Tour Women for Neve.

In 2023, La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es signalled the arrival of Ricarda to the World Tour. After two years in the development team, CANYON//SRAM Generation, Ricarda finished fifth in the general classification at La Vuelta, the first of four World Tour general classification top tens in 2023 for the German rider. Teammate Kasia leads the team into the stage race season on a high after a second place and victory in the one-day spring classics, Ronde van Vlaanderen and La Fleche Wallonne.

The race expands to eight stages for the first time in its young history, starting with an opening team time trial (TTT) in Valencia on Sunday, 28 April, and featuring one flat stage, two undulating stages, a mid-mountain stage, and three mountain stages.

The 16km TTT stage will crown the first leader of the general classification with the ‘maillot rojo’ or red jersey. In 2023, CANYON//SRAM Racing missed the TTT stage win by less than one second and will aim to start the stage race with another strong performance. The squad will be boosted by young time trial talents Zoe, Justyna, and Antonia.

From Valencia, the race then moves towards the mountains, with the Pyrenees hosting a women’s stage for the first time. The eighth and final stage is a summit finish in Valdesquí­ on Sunday, 5 May, setting the stage for a fierce general classification battle until the last metres of the race.

RIDER QUOTES

Maike van der Duin: “I’m looking forward to my first stage race of 2024, which will finally mark the start of my road season after just two races so far. However, I’m a bit nervous. The biggest expectations from myself are that I am there to help my teammates and that we are committed to the GC.”

“The team time trial on stage one is the first time I will ever race a TTT. I have some track experience, so it won’t be difficult from that perspective. I can’t wait to suffer with my teammates in the TTT and achieve the best result together.”

“On paper, stages 2, 4, and 7 are more sprint stages, and there is an opportunity to mix it in the final with the sprinters again. But we’re motivated to explore all of our options. We have a strong team for the GC. In the climbing stages, we can aim for the win. I can’t wait for the race to start on Sunday because I want to put in the hard work to help the GC riders achieve the best result possible together.”

Kasia Niewiadoma: “From the start of the season, our team grew in strength with each race. You could see that in Liege-Bastogne-Liege despite lacking a podium place, we had a good race with numbers in the front. We missed the timings, and that prevented us from finishing the spring campaign on the very highest note. It still gives our riders a lot of confidence going into the next part of the season.”

“We have a young team coming to the La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es just a few days later. Most of our riders were born after 2000! That brings a lot of energy and potential for good results. I’m looking forward to this race with a young team and to share my experience with the team and the GC riders. Working with a different team at a stage race is very exciting for me to see how everyone reacts to specific moments, different stages, and race pressure.”

“Stage one TTT is a classic time trial: straight, all out, turn, all out, finish. We have a lot of climbers on the team, but they’re also very good time trial riders like Antonia, Ricarda, and Justyna, and then we have the powerhouses of Maike and Zoe. The TTT is important, but I don’t see significant gaps in the GC. It’s straightforward and is about putting power down, which many riders can do.”

“The overall will be decided in the last few stages. Stage five is the first big GC day. It will create some gaps, but the final stage is the hardest, so anything can happen until the last day.”

Ricarda Bauernfeind: “Last year at La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es, I learned a lot from various race situations: crosswinds, mountain finish, hectic sprint finals. I also learned to prepare myself for multi-day tough stage races. These experiences gave me confidence for the stage races that followed in the season.”

“This year, we have a powerful team. The team time trial is important to start the stage race in a good position, but we race several mountain finishes that suit our team and will play the biggest role in the GC. I aim to support our entire team, especially on the long climbs, for our GC ambitions.”

Neve Bradbury: “I’m feeling good after the classics season. I felt good in races that aren’t perfectly suited to me, and that gives me confidence for the longer climbs we’ll race at La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es. There are various courses, from TTT to summit finishes, a possible cross-wind day, and some stages for the sprinters.”

“Starting the race on a positive note in the TTT stage one would be the best scenario so that we can grow from there. Our team is very strong, and we’ve started the year well. The Vuelta is about continuing our upward progress together. We’re all looking forward to getting stuck into stage racing.”

HOW TO WATCH

La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es can be followed on X with #LaVueltaFemenina. The official broadcasters are RTVE, NOS, Floikes, RTVC Senal, Eurosport, Sky Sport, RTBF, TV2, Peacock, Supersport, SBS, ESPN, SSC, and JSPORTS.

Stage 1 TTT | 16km | Sunday 28 April | Valencia | First team 15:56CEST | CANYON//SRAM Racing 16:47CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 2 | 118.5km | Monday 29 April | Bunyol – Moncofa | Start 14:05CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 3 | 130.5km | Tuesday 30 April | Lucena/Llucena – Teruel | Start 13:35CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 4 | 142.5km | Wednesday 1 May | Molina de Aragon – Zaragoza | Start 13:50CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 5 | 114km | Thursday 2 May | Huesca – Jaca | Start 14:05CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 6 | 132.5km | Friday 3 May | Tarazona – La Laguna Negra. Vinuesa | Start 13:30CEST | Broadcast 15:30CEST.

Stage 7 | 139km | Saturday 4 May | San Esteban de Gormaz – Sigenza | Start 12:55CEST | Broadcast 14:30CEST.

Stage 8 | 89.5km | Sunday 5 May | Distrito Telefonica – Valdesquí­. Comunidad de Madrid | Start 10:50CEST | Broadcast 12:00CEST.

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