Kiko García, the Vuelta Femenina's technical director, said from the very beginning that the final two stages of this Vuelta Femenina will provide the pivotal moments of this year's race for the overall title, on the slopes of the Les Praeres on stage 6 and then the fearsome L'Angliru on stage 7, which is set to make its debut and mark the conclusion of the seven-day race on Saturday.
True to his word, the GC standings underwent a major shake-up on the Les Praeres on Friday, with Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) taking a commanding mountain victory to move into the red leader's jersey, and everyone else struggling to stay as close to her as possible to help keep their GC hope alive on the final day of racing.
The queen stage of this race will begin in La Pola Llaviana / Pola de Lavianna, and the peloton will contest 132km, which is the longest stage of this year's race.
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While it is not the most challenging run-in the final ascent, opportunists could still take one last chance to get ahead of the field before what will be one of the toughest finales in the event's history.
The field will tackle three categorised ascents before the final: category 3 Alto de Santo Emiliano at the 15.2km mark, category 3 Alto de la Tejera at the 75.1km mark and the category 2 Alto del Tenebredo at the 97.7km mark.
The race will finish atop the fearsome L'Angliru, 13km in length with an average gradient of 9.7%, but it's closer to 13% in the second half.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) on her way to a victory on stage 6 (Image credit: Getty Images)
L'Angliru has a long history as part of the men's event, but this will mark the first time the organisers of the women's event have included it in the parcours.
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It wasn't an automatic decision because organisers were concerned the race for the red jersey would be all but wrapped up before the finale, but after consulting with the teams, they went all-in to make sure Angliru was part of this year's Vuelta Femenina.
"We are convinced that it's a fantastic challenge for the girls and it will be for sure a big show – we expect a great result with a fantastic final with these two climbs at the end," Garcia told Cyclingnews in a pre-race interview.
A show indeed, the general classification has been shaken but not torn apart completely, with 1:44 separating the top 10 ahead of the final stage.
In addition, Van der Breggen leads the GC by just 18 seconds ahead of runner-up and home favourite Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ), who put forth another head-turning performance atop Les Praeres.
Blasi still has a real chance to finish on the podium, if not staging a coup on the final day to win the whole race on the toughest climb of all.
And while Pauline Ferrand-Prévot may be out of contention, her Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Marion Bunel is in third overall, at 44 seconds back, and very much the type of climber who can excel on Angliru.
It will be difficult to overhaul a rider like Van der Breggen, but a cluster of riders sits just further back and not yet out of contention; Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco), Évita Muzic (FDJ United-SUEZ), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) all have a chance to make a difference on the last day of racing if they play their cards on the roads toward Angliru.
L'Angliru has been one of the most iconic ascents in cycling, and has seen climbing performances that have written cyclists' names into the sport's history books at the men's Vuelta a España. This year, not only will it make its debut in the women's race, but it will also crown the winner of the 2026 La Vuelta Femenina.
La Vuelta Femenina 2026 profile stage 7 (Image credit: La Vuelta Femenina)
Climbs
Alto de Santo Emiliano at the 15.2km mark
Alto de la Tejera at the 75.1km mark
Alto del Tenebredo at the 97.7km mark
Mountaintop finish at L'Angliru
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Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
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