Debutants with determination – The rising stars expected to shine at La Vuelta Femenina

May marks the transition from the Classics to stage racing for the Women's WorldTour, and with it comes some tired legs from a full calendar of one-day events but a refreshed readiness for the big stage of the season's opening Grand Tour. 

The Vuelta Femenina, May 4-10, features 41 debutants out of a field of 146 riders. Most of the new faces competing across northern Spain will try to make a name for themselves on the varied terrain, showcasing their endurance and putting lessons learned from the spring into action. 

The Vuelta does not have a best young rider classification jersey, but does honour a rider under the age of 23 each day. There are 25 riders who will vie for that prize this week, getting a little slice of the limelight, including four riders on Visma-Lease a Bike. 

While we will focus here on the emerging talent of young riders in Spain, the is one name that stands out the most from the first-time riders: Visma's multiple world champion Pauline Férrand-Prevot. Before she retired from the road, the French rider competed at the Giro d'Italia from 2013 to 2015, finishing second overall in 2014. She will use this first entry at the Vuelta as preparation for another Giro d'Italia Women and her big target, the Tour de France Femmes, with the Spanish stage race a bit shorter and more lowkey on media attention.

Here's a look at a few riders who can not only help their team leaders but perhaps turn a decent sprint or a good day of climbing into a signature moment in Spain.

Cat Ferguson (Movistar)

Look no further than Movistar to find Cat Ferguson at the top of the list for a young rider with an abundance of international experience. She is the reigning women's junior world champion in both the road race and time trial, and last year took GC wins in three lower-level stage races – Bizkaikoloreak, Tour du Gévauden Occitanie and Omloop van Borsele. She should bring instant support for team leader Liane Lippert, who aims to add a stage win to ones already on her resumé from the Tour and the Giro.

"I thought I would not do any Grand Tours this year," she said before the race. "I would like to have an opportunity to try and win in a sprint, but my main priority is just to make the team happy."

The British youngster just turned 19 the week prior to the Vuelta. She already scored a third-place finish at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, finished in the top 20 at Milan-San Remo Women and Tour of Flanders, then capped a strong De Brabantse Pijl ride with ninth place in the chase group behind solo winner Elisa Longo Borghini. 

She said she had no pressure in the spring Classics, as "the results sort of came after doing my job for the team." She plans to continue to learn and develop her skills in a support role at the Vuelta, and if results develop then that will be a bonus.

Lisa van Belle (SD Worx-Protime)

Last year at the age of 20, Lisa van Belle rose to great heights on the Olympic Games podium as a bronze medalist on the track. Now she gets her first taste at the WorldTour level just days after signing a contract with SD Worx-Protime. She moved straight from Continental team Velopro-Alphamotorhomes to the Vuelta Femenina roster for SD Worx-Protime. 

"Lisa is, in my eyes, a talent for the future, we felt that the sooner we have her under our wing, the better. She is a team player, but also a real winner. I think she can become much stronger on the road," sports director Danny Stam said about her addition last week.

A month after turning 21, the Dutch rider won the European Track title in Zolder in the Madison with Maike van der Duin, her teammate for third place at the Olympics. Van Belle said she can use her explosiveness in the sprints, and there will be several days she can do that in Spain and hit her stride.

Viktória Chladoňová (Visma-Lease a Bike)

The youngest rider in the peloton this week at La Vuelta Femenina is Visma-Lease a Bike's Viktória Chladoňová, who turns 19 in November. The sleek young rider is built for climbing, but she also has power in time trials. She used both skills to finish seventh overall at Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina in March. This week's stage race is her Grand Tour debut.

The Slovakian has landed on the podium as a junior at the road World Championships each of the last two years, taking second in the time trial twice and earning a bronze in the road race last year after she took silver in 2023. Visma think highly of her talents, putting her under contract through 2027. 

Justyna Czapla (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)

Now in her second season at the top tier with Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, Justyna Czapla wasted no time in making the most with her first Grand Tour start, earning the best young rider prize after stage 1 at La Vuelta Femenina. She clocked the fastest time of all under-23 riders in the team time trial, riding with her teammates to fifth place, eight seconds down on winners Lidl-Trek.

Climbing is where the 21-year-old usually shines, but has done well in time trials, winning the European and German titles in the ITT as a junior in 2022 and going on for silver medal in the at Worlds behind Zoe Bäckstedt. Last year she won the U23 ITT national title.

"I surprised myself a bit with how strong I felt during the race. I could do my turns and support the team right until the line," she said in a team statement after stage 1.

"This is my first time ever leading [a classification] in a stage race, and in my first Grand Tour too. I’m really proud. But the biggest goal is to help the team and support our ambitions."

Mara Roldan (Team Picnic PostNL)

This young Canadian makes her Grand Tour debut on a first season at the WorldTour level. Mara Roldan raced for two seasons on the Continental level with Cynisca Cycling, breaking out in 2024 with a stage victory at Volta a Portugal Femenina, a 119km route with an uphill finish. She also had two stage wins and finished third overall at Redlands Bicycle Classic in California. She's been in the Team Picnic PostNL line-up for 11 one-day races this year, finishing 10th at Amstel Gold Race. Look for Roldan to shine on the big stage in Spain.

Angie Mariana Londoño (Eneicat-CMTeam)

One of the smaller Spanish squads at La Vuelta Femenina is Eneicat-CM Team. Their team director Humberto Gómez said: "We want to feature in the breakaways and fight for the combativity award". One of the riders to watch is 19-year-old Angie Mariana Londoño. 

She is a Colombian climber who won the women's junior Pan-American road race in 2023 and won a stage at the four-day Clásica Marinilla Ramon Emilio Arcil in her home country last year. This season she was eighth overall at Tour El Salvador and finished fourth in the 47.2km uphill race at Grand Prix Presidente. If her legs stay strong until stage 5's mountaintop finish, she may be able to do something special.

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