The 2026 Women's WorldTour is already underway, with the Women's Tour Down Under taking place over the weekend, but it's a gradual start to the season, and we still have a few weeks to wait for many of the top riders to start their racing campaigns.
Names like world champion Magdeleine Vallieres, Ally Wollaston and Chloé Dygert have already opened their accounts in Australia, but most of the major Classics and Grand Tour racers are still in pre-season training mode, with most opting to start in February or March.
With the women's season becoming longer and busier, riders are more careful about where and how much they race, with a tendency towards quieter programmes and more training becoming the norm. That said, with the start of the Classics only just over a month away, most big names will be making their racing debuts quite soon.
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From those who are starting at next month's UAE Tour Women, or those waiting for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and beyond, here's where the top riders from the women's peloton will start their seasons in 2026.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot confirmed her schedule at Visma's team camp this month (Image credit: Getty Images)
2025 Tour de France Femmes champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is targeting the yellow jersey once again this year, and is set to follow a similarly race-light run-in, prioritising training and only the biggest races.
Last year, she started at the UAE Tour, but after an off-season elongated by ankle surgery, she's pushed her debut back for 2026 and will kick off at Strade Bianche (March 7), followed by the Tour of Flanders. She's set to skip Paris-Roubaix, despite winning it in 2025, giving full leadership to Marianne Vos. She'll then race the Ardennes and the Vuelta Femenina before the summer is likely all about training for the Tour and trying to defend her title.
"The high expectations for the coming year give me extra motivation to improve," she said. "I perform better when there’s pressure, so I see very little negative in those expectations. I’m absolutely ready to give the best of myself again."
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Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Just as she did last year, Elisa Longo Borghini is set to start her season at the UAE Tour (February 5-8), racing as the leader of the home squad UAE Team ADQ. Even before moving to the Emirati squad, though, Longo Borghini has favoured the UAE Tour for her season debut, riding it the last three years and winning the GC there twice. With the usual Jebel Hafeet final on the cards again in 2026, the Italian will surely be chasing a third overall win there.
She has not confirmed her spring programme yet, but with the Giro d'Italia Women her ultimate summer goal once again, it's likely to be a selective, targeted programme of the biggest races – likely focusing on the Ardennes – to lead into the Giro. She's set to race the Tour de France Femmes too, taking advantage of the longer gap between the two Grand Tours.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lorena Wiebes will also start her season in the UAE, the race organisers confirmed this week, which has become her traditional starting point, too. She's won six stages there in the last three editions, and with three more sprint opportunities on the parcours this year, that's fairly likely to become nine, given her growing dominance in the sprint field.
Wiebes will likely then race a busy Classics season, though she hasn't confirmed her schedule, but she will lead in the flatter races as SD Worx refocus away from GC riding and back onto the Classics.
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Demi Vollering is one of the biggest names who hasn't yet confirmed where she will start her season; in fact, FDJ United-Suez haven't confirmed the programme of any of their top riders.
Given she missed out on the Tour de France victory again last year, Vollering may well shake up her approach in 2026. She's usually favoured racing quite a lot whilst many of her rivals prioritised training, so it wouldn't be surprising to see her pare back the racing this season, so it's hard to predict where she may start. Previously, she's made her debut at February's Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, but a lighter approach could see her only parachute in for the Classics. We'll update you when we know more.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Prolific winner Marianne Vos has also tended towards a lighter, more focused racing calendar in recent seasons, and that's no different for 2026. She will start her season with Ferrand-Prévot at Strade Bianche, going on to race Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the race she most wants to win. She'll skip the smaller Belgian Classics to focus on those big goals. She's also set to return to the Tour with Ferrand-Prévot, as the two build on their winning relationship.
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Like Ferrand-Prévot, Lotte Kopecky had an off-season that was somewhat disrupted by injury, as she cut the end of her 2025 season short and has been working through a back problem during the winter. She found her form in the winter, returning to some success on the track, but as a result of her difficult year, she's readjusted her expectations for 2026. She'll step back on her previous ambitions to target more stage races, and mainly focus on Classics and one-day racing.
With that in mind, it looks like she will start her season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (February 28), and we expect to see her in most of the big Classics, whilst her summer goals remain unconfirmed. Keep in mind: she'll be wearing the regular SD Worx kit rather than the world or Belgian champion's jersey for the first time in a long time when she does make her debut, don't miss her!
Marlen Reusser (Movistar)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Movistar's Marlen Reusser will start her season this week, taking part in the women's Mallorca Challenge races (January 24-26). This block proved a fruitful start to the year for the Swiss rider in 2025, as she took the win on just her second day of racing at the Trofeo Palma after a tough 2024 and move to Movistar. The time trial world champion can probably hope for a repeat of that, given the light field in Mallorca.
Having made a big step up as a stage racer in 2025, the rest of Reusser's schedule will probably mix the major Classics and top stage races as she looks for a repeat of her Grand Tour podiums.
Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The world champion Magdeleine Vallieres is probably the biggest name to have already started her season, as she just completed the Women's Tour Down Under, helping her teammate Noemi Rüegg to the overall win. She will presumably stay on for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and then return to Europe before targeting the Ardennes Classics.
Top riders with no confirmed programme
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) – Often starts at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana in February, or Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) – Currently up in the air after a back injury racing cyclo-cross. May race Cyclo-cross World Championships, or cut winter short and focus on usual Classics campaign
Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) – No word on a schedule for the 2025 Liège-Bastogne-Liege winner yet
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) – Targeting the Italian Classics, but will likely race before Milan-San Remo
Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported on the ground at all of the biggest events on the calendar, including the men's and women's Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, the Spring Classics and the World Championships. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.
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