Itzulia Women: Mischa Bredewold secures overall victory with daredevil descending as Dominika Włodarczyk doubles up to win final stage

SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - MAY 17: Overall race winner Mischa Bredewold of Netherlands and Team SD Worx - Protime - Yellow Leader Jersey reacts after the 5th Itzulia Women 2026, Stage 3 a 131.1km stage from San Sebastian to San Sebastian / #UCIWWT / on May 17, 2026 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
Bredewold was emotional at the finish (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime) won the 2026 Itzulia Women, closing the gap to a front group of seven riders in the streets of Donostia to defend her race lead.

Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) won the final stage ahead of Évita Muzic and Lauren Dickson (both FDJ United-Suez), repeating her stage win from stage 2.

The yellow jersey was dropped on the Mendizorrotz climb in the final of stage 3 and was 30 seconds behind a front group of seven riders with 10km. Bredewold shot down the descent, and in the final kilometre, she made it back to the front group and still sprinted to sixth place on the stage.

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"It’s making me emotional. The support from the team was incredible. I really started to believe I could do it today because they really believed in me. I’m very, very happy to take this victory," said Bredewold after the podium ceremony where she received the customary txapela hat.

"Last year, I overpaced myself on the climb in the beginning. I knew that was my biggest enemy today. Friday, I felt a little bit better on the climb [than today], but I was struggling with position. I thought that if I take over, with the headwind it’s going to cost me too much energy, so I really had to pace it," Bredewold described the climb before reliving the whirlwind final 10km.

"I saw the gap was not too big, and I knew the flatter part and then the technical descent is my part. When I came down, I saw them, and I had only one goal. I don’t think I dug this deep in my life before, I almost fainted behind the podium just now. But we made it," she finished.

SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - MAY 17: Dominika Wlodarczyk of Poland and UAE Team ADQ celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 5th Itzulia Women 2026, Stage 3 a 131.1km stage from San Sebastian to San Sebastian / #UCIWWT / on May 17, 2026 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)

Włodarczyk secured the stage 3 victory in a reduced sprint (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.

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