Longer, tougher La Vuelta Challenge to test women's peloton

With an extra day of racing and harder terrain featuring, the 2022 Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta is set to be a major test for the women's peloton.

(L to R) Sara Martin Martin and Annemiek Van Vleuten of Movistar Team celebrate the victory during the 7th Ceratizit Challenge By La Vuelta 2021, Stage 4. Credit: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Watch all the action from the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 22 livestreaming on SBS On Demand, September 7-11.

The eighth edition of the race, run alongside the men's Vuelta a España, will take off from Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria, on the 7th of September with a team time trial and will conclude on the 11th of September in Madrid. It will include another day of competition from previous years, making a total of 5 stages, and will feature its toughest route yet.

There will be five very different stages: an inaugural team time trial, medium mountain stages, a course with an explosive finale, and an opportunity for the sprinters in the traditional final circuit in Madrid, which will coincide with the last stage of La Vuelta a España 2022.

Stage-by-Stage - Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 2022

Stage 1

Vuelta Challenge 22 Stage 1 profile

The race will begin with a team time trial spanning over almost 20 km in the municipality of Marina de Cudeyo. This winding route will determine who wears La Roja (the red leader's jersey) first.

Stage 2

Vuelta Challenge 22 Stage 2 profile

The second stage will continue to travel through Cantabria with its departure and arrival in Colindres. The riders will have to face a challenging series of mountain passes, with up to five point-incurring climbs, two of them 1st category climbs. It will undoubtedly be a stage for climbers as they overcome the steep ramps of Campo la Cruz (3.2 km at an inclination of 8%) in the final part of the stage.

Stage 3

Vuelta Challenge 22 Stage 3 profile

Just 17 days after hosting the departure of the 7th stage of La Vuelta, Camargo will host the departure of the 3rd stage of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta.

The peloton will head to Aguilar de Campoo in a stage filled with many uphill stretches. Hoces de Bárcena (16 km at an inclination of 3.4%) will be the day’s main obstacle, with the stage’s final third consisting of a constant barrage of climbs and descents.

Stage 4

Vuelta Challenge 22 Stage 4 profile

The fourth stage, which will depart from Palencia, will mark a new milestone for the race as it will be the longest stage in the race’s history thus far. 160 km long with leg-breaking climbs in the first half and a flatter second stretch with several uphill kilometres at the end. The Segovia aqueduct will watch the cyclists ride past towards the historical city centre’s cobblestoned finale.

Stage 5

Vuelta Challenge 22 Stage 5 profile

To conclude, the CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta will again hold a final stage entirely within Madrid’s traditional urban circuit, coinciding with the 21st stage of La Vuelta. It should be a day for the peloton’s most powerful sprinters, though the breakaway has been successful in the past.

Watch all the action from the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta 22 livestreaming on SBS On Demand, September 7-11.