# 2023 La Vuelta Femenina

The 2023 La Vuelta Femenina (officially La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es) was the first edition of La Vuelta Femenina, a cycling stage race which takes place in Spain. The race took place from 1 to 7 May 2023, and was the 15th event in the 2023 UCI Women's World Tour.
The race was organised by Unipublic and Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which also organises the men's Vuelta a España. La Vuelta Femenina replaced the stage race (previously one day race) Challenge by La Vuelta, which was staged at the same time as the men's tour.
The race was won by Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten of Movistar Team, making her the first woman to win all three of the major stage races in women's cycling (La Vuelta Femenina, Tour de France Femmes and Giro Donne). She beat her Dutch rival Demi Vollering of SD Worx by just nine seconds, with Italian Gaia Realini of Trek–Segafredo in third place.

## Teams

12 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited, joined by 12 UCI Women's Continental Teams (9 of them from Spain). The teams were announced on 3 March 2023. Each team will have seven riders.
On 26 April, Zaaf Cycling Team withdrew their entry following allegations of unpaid wages. Two days later, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) revoked Zaaf's licence as they lacked the required number of riders. 23 teams therefore took part in the race.
UCI Women's WorldTeams
* Canyon–SRAM
* EF Education–Tibco–SVB
* FDJ–Suez
* Israel Premier Tech Roland
* Liv Racing TeqFind
* Movistar Team
* Team DSM
* Team Jayco–AlUla
* Team Jumbo–Visma
* SD Worx
* Trek–Segafredo
* UAE Team ADQ
UCI Women's Continental Teams
* Bepink
* Bizkaia–Durango
* Eneicat–CMTeam–Seguros Deportivos
* Laboral Kutxa–Fundación Euskadi
* Massi–Tactic
* Cantabria Deporte–Río Miera
* Soltec Team
* Sopela Women's Team
* St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93
* Team Coop–Hitec Products
* Team Farto–BTC
* Zaaf Cycling Team

## Route and stages

In February 2023, the route was announced by race director Fernando Escartín, who also confirmed that the race will be sponsored by supermarket Carrefour. The race was the first edition of La Vuelta Femenina, however, the media noted that the race had grown from the previous Challenge by La Vuelta races.
The race started in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca with a team time trial, before heading north with stages through Castilla–La Mancha, Community of Madrid and Castile and León. The final two stages took place in Cantabria and Asturias, with a decisive final climb up the Lagos de Covadonga, a 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) ascent with an average gradient of 7.4%. The first rider to the top of the Lagos de Covadonga climb was awarded the Cima Estela Domínguez, honouring the Spanish rider who was killed while training in 2023.
The previous Challenge by La Vuelta events had been criticised by the women's peloton for not being challenging enough. Three-time Giro Donne winner and 2022 Tour de France Femmes winner Annemiek van Vleuten praised the 2023 route, calling it "a very complete Vuelta", and welcomed that the inclusion of the Lagos de Covadonga climb on the final stage, stating "to end in such a famous location is essential for the race".
Stage characteristics :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 1 May | Torrevieja | 14.5 km (9.0 mi) | | Team time trial | Team Jumbo–Visma |
| 2 | 2 May | Orihuela to Pilar de la Horadada | 105.8 km (65.7 mi) | | Flat stage | Charlotte Kool (NED) |
| 3 | 3 May | Elche de la Sierra to La Roda | 158 km (98 mi) | | Flat stage | Marianne Vos (NED) |
| 4 | 4 May | Cuenca to Guadalajara | 133.1 km (82.7 mi) | | Hilly stage | Marianne Vos (NED) |
| 5 | 5 May | La Cabrera to Mirador de Peñas Llanas, Riaza | 129.2 km (80.3 mi) | | Mountain stage | Demi Vollering (NED) |
| 6 | 6 May | Castro Urdiales to Laredo | 106.7 km (66.3 mi) | | Medium-mountain stage | Gaia Realini (ITA) |
| 7 | 7 May | Pola de Siero to Lagos de Covadonga | 93.7 km (58.2 mi) | | Mountain stage | Demi Vollering (NED) |
| Total | Total | Total | 741 km (460 mi) | 741 km (460 mi) | 741 km (460 mi) | 741 km (460 mi) |

## Race overview

Prior to the start of the race, Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering, Gaia Realini, Mavi García, Kasia Niewiadoma and Juliette Labous were all named as pre-race favourites for the general classification (GC), with Charlotte Kool, Emma Norsgaard and Marianne Vos tipped for the points classification. Potential contender for the general classification Elisa Longo Borghini announced that she would miss the race due to a stomach bug.
For the first time in 2023, each team had 7 riders following a UCI rule change mandating this for events longer than six days. The Zaaf Cycling Team withdrew their entry prior to the start of the event following allegations of unpaid wages. Consequently, 161 riders from 23 teams were present at the start of the race.

## Classification leadership table

| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Team classification | Combativity award |
| 1 | Team Jumbo–Visma | Anna Henderson | not awarded | not awarded | Team Jumbo–Visma | not awarded |
| 2 | Charlotte Kool | Marianne Vos | Charlotte Kool | Jade Wiel | Team Jumbo–Visma | Yurani Blanco |
| 3 | Marianne Vos | Marianne Vos | Marianne Vos | Jade Wiel | Team Jumbo–Visma | Alba Teruel |
| 4 | Marianne Vos | Marianne Vos | Marianne Vos | Elise Chabbey | Team Jumbo–Visma | Anna Kiesenhofer |
| 5 | Demi Vollering | Demi Vollering | Marianne Vos | Elise Chabbey | Canyon–SRAM | Ane Santesteban |
| 6 | Gaia Realini | Annemiek van Vleuten | Marianne Vos | Annemiek van Vleuten | UAE Team ADQ | Gaia Realini |
| 7 | Demi Vollering | Annemiek van Vleuten | Marianne Vos | Gaia Realini | UAE Team ADQ | Marianne Vos |
| Final | Final | Annemiek van Vleuten | Marianne Vos | Gaia Realini | UAE Team ADQ | not awarded |

## Classification standings

Legend :
| Denotes the winner of the general classification | Denotes the winner of the team classification |
| Denotes the winner of the points classification | Denotes the winner of the combativity award |
| Denotes the winner of the mountains classification |

### General classification

Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 19h 00' 11" |
| 2 | Demi Vollering (NED) | SD Worx | + 9" |
| 3 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Trek–Segafredo | + 2' 41" |
| 4 | Riejanne Markus (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 3' 36" |
| 5 | Ricarda Bauernfeind (GER) | Canyon–SRAM | + 3' 53" |
| 6 | Évita Muzic (FRA) | FDJ–Suez | + 4' 24" |
| 7 | Juliette Labous (FRA) | Team DSM | + 4' 27" |
| 8 | Erica Magnaldi (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | + 4' 46" |
| 9 | Mavi García (ESP) | Liv Racing TeqFind | + 6' 31" |
| 10 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) | Canyon–SRAM | + 7' 22" |

### Points classification

Final points classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Marianne Vos (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 197 |
| 2 | Demi Vollering (NED) | SD Worx | 142 |
| 3 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 138 |
| 4 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Trek–Segafredo | 121 |
| 5 | Riejanne Markus (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 101 |
| 6 | Marlen Reusser (SUI) | SD Worx | 65 |
| 7 | Évita Muzic (FRA) | FDJ–Suez | 58 |
| 8 | Emma Norsgaard (DEN) | Movistar Team | 58 |
| 9 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) | Canyon–SRAM | 39 |
| 10 | Juliette Labous (FRA) | Team DSM | 38 |

### Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Trek–Segafredo | 43 |
| 2 | Demi Vollering (NED) | SD Worx | 41 |
| 3 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 38 |
| 4 | Évita Muzic (FRA) | FDJ–Suez | 22 |
| 5 | Elise Chabbey (SUI) | Canyon–SRAM | 18 |
| 6 | Amanda Spratt (AUS) | Trek–Segafredo | 13 |
| 7 | Ricarda Bauernfeind (GER) | Canyon–SRAM | 12 |
| 8 | Erica Magnaldi (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | 12 |
| 9 | Marta Cavalli (ITA) | FDJ–Suez | 10 |
| 10 | Marlen Reusser (SUI) | SD Worx | 8 |

### Team classification

Final team classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Team | Time |
| 1 | UAE Team ADQ | 56h 39' 07" |
| 2 | FDJ–Suez | + 6' 00" |
| 3 | Canyon–SRAM | + 7' 14" |
| 4 | SD Worx | + 18' 05" |
| 5 | Movistar Team | + 24' 58" |
| 6 | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 30' 10" |
| 7 | Team DSM | + 31' 45" |
| 8 | Trek–Segafredo | + 37' 01" |
| 9 | Team Jayco–AlUla | + 52' 53" |
| 10 | Israel Premier Tech Roland | + 57' 15" |