Women’s NXT Classic 2026 takes place today, Saturday 4th April, in and around Eijsden in South Limburg, and it is the kind of race that tends to look smaller on paper than it does once the road starts to bite. The women’s event has been on the calendar since 2017 and has already built a clear identity, with past winners including Karol-Ann Canuel, Belle de Gast, Demi Vollering, Mischa Bredewold, Femke Markus and defending champion Femke Gerritse.
That winners list tells you plenty on its own. This is not a race that rewards one narrow rider type. It tends to suit punchy all-rounders, riders who can cope with repeated efforts, and finishers who can still produce something sharp after a hard, nervous day. If you want a broader look at how these Dutch and Belgian-style one-day races fit into the women’s season, ProCyclingUK’s guide to the Women’s WorldTour races, teams and points and guide to the most important women’s cycling races offer useful context.
Photo Credit: Raul RademakersWhy the Women’s NXT Classic matters
Even though Women’s NXT Classic does not sit at the very top tier of the calendar, it is the sort of race that can still tell you a lot about rider sharpness, team depth and who is reading these selective one-day races well. South Limburg has a way of exposing weakness without needing a huge mountain or a famous cobbled sector. The roads are rolling, technical and often more draining than the profile alone suggests.
That is what gives this race its particular identity. It is not usually a straightforward flat sprint race, but nor is it a pure climbers’ day. Instead, it sits in that awkward middle ground where positioning, repeated accelerations and race instinct matter almost as much as raw power. That makes it a genuinely interesting contenders race rather than just a small event with a familiar finish.
A bit of history behind the race
The women’s race has steadily built credibility over the past decade. Vollering won here in 2019, Bredewold in 2023, Markus in 2024 and Gerritse in 2025, which gives the event a useful reputation as a race that often lands with riders who can handle harder terrain and then make the right move late on.
That is one reason NXT Classic tends to be more revealing than its category might suggest. It has often acted as a useful stage for riders coming through, but it also rewards those who already know how to manage a selective race over tricky roads. There is a clear continuity in the type of rider who thrives here.
For readers who enjoy the wider Dutch and Flemish one-day scene, ProCyclingUK’s history of Brabantse Pijl Women and history of Amstel Gold Race Women are helpful companion reads because they show how these shorter, punchier races often overlap in rider type and tactical demands.
What sort of route does Women’s NXT Classic use?
This year’s route is 118km from Eijsden back to Eijsden, with enough climbing to make it selective without turning it into a pure mountain test. That is often the sweet spot for races in this part of the Netherlands. The terrain is constantly lumpy, there is little room to relax, and riders are forced into repeated changes of rhythm across the afternoon.
So this is not a race for riders hoping to hide all day and trust a long, calm run-in. It usually points instead towards a reduced front group, a late solo move, or at least a finale where only the strongest twenty or thirty riders are still properly in contention. If you follow men’s racing too, the structure is closer to a smaller Ardennes-style one-day race than a flat northern sprint classic.
That repeated pressure is what makes rider profile so important. The favourites are not necessarily the fastest pure sprinters in the field. They are the riders who can survive constant changes of pace, hold position through awkward roads, and still finish strongly once the race has broken apart.
Femke Gerritse starts as the obvious reference point
As defending champion, Gerritse naturally begins as the rider everyone else has to measure themselves against. Winning this race last year matters because course fit and confidence on this type of terrain can count for a lot. Riders who already know how to win in South Limburg often arrive with a different kind of authority.
She also has the right profile for the race. Gerritse is not just a rider waiting passively for the finale to come to her. She can handle a selective one-day race and still finish it off, which is exactly the blend you want in Women’s NXT Classic.
On balance, she is the clearest all-round favourite because she combines route suitability, recent winning memory here, and the kind of race instinct that matters in a nervous, attritional race.
VolkerWessels look stacked for this level
VolkerWessels bring one of the strongest collective blocks to the race with Lonneke Uneken, Florien Bolks and Amber van der Hulst all in the frame. That is a very useful trio for this sort of terrain because they cover several possible race scenarios.
Uneken is the name with the clearest finishing pedigree, van der Hulst brings experience and strength for a harder race, and Bolks adds another option if the day becomes more chaotic or selective than controlled. At this level, depth often matters as much as one star name, and VolkerWessels look like one of the few teams capable of genuinely playing the race rather than simply reacting to it.
If they get multiple riders into the final selection, they could put Gerritse and the other favourites under real pressure.
Photo Credit: Tomasso Pelagalli/SCA/Cor VosCofidis have several live options
Amalie Dideriksen, Nadia Quagliotto and Martina Alzini give Cofidis one of the most interesting line-ups in the race. Dideriksen carries the biggest reputation and the clearest finishing credentials, Alzini gives them another fast option, while Quagliotto offers flexibility if the race becomes more aggressive and selective.
The key question for Cofidis is not whether they have cards to play. They clearly do. It is whether the race becomes hard enough, early enough, to fully suit them. If it stays just manageable enough for a reduced sprint, Dideriksen in particular becomes one of the most dangerous riders in the race.
That balance makes Cofidis especially interesting tactically. They may not need to force the race quite as hard as some of the more punch-focused teams. They just need to avoid being caught out if the front selection forms earlier than expected.
Photo Credit: Sprint Cycling AgencyDAS-Hutchinson could be one of the day’s most interesting teams
Meike Uiterwijk Winkel and Noemie Thomson are both worth keeping an eye on, because this feels like exactly the sort of race where a team like DAS-Hutchinson can become more influential than the category might first suggest.
Uiterwijk Winkel looks well suited to a hard Dutch one-day race, while Thomson gives them another rider capable of staying relevant if the front group is reduced rather than completely shattered. They do not arrive with the same weight of expectation as Gerritse or some of the better-known names from bigger teams, but that can be a useful position in a race like this.
There is often room in South Limburg for the riders who judge the race well while others are focused too heavily on the obvious favourites.
Julie De Wilde is the difficult name to place
De Wilde is one of the hardest riders in the race to judge. At her best, she would be one of the clearest favourites for a race like this. The route suits her skill set, and on pure ability she absolutely belongs near the front of any preview.
The issue is form. As you noted, she is very much out of form at the moment, and that changes the way she has to be assessed. This is not a case of ignoring her talent. It is simply a case of recognising that current condition matters more than reputation in a race like this.
So De Wilde remains a genuine wildcard. On talent and route fit, she could easily outrun this preview. On current level, she carries far more uncertainty than the headline names around her.
The outsiders who could easily outgrow that label
There are several names on this start list who look dangerous precisely because this race is selective without being packed with WorldTour depth.
Ginia Caluori stands out as the kind of rider who could turn a solid day into something bigger if the front group hesitates. Laura Lizette Sander could become relevant if the finale comes from a reduced bunch rather than a lone move. Sidney Swierenga is another rider with a real opportunity here, especially in a race where positioning and race instinct can narrow the gap between the biggest names and the second line of contenders.
Olga Wankiewicz and Sofia Ungerova of MAT ATOM also look like exactly the sort of pairing that can animate this category of race. They may not carry the loudest billing before the start, but if the race opens up and the selection reaches a little deeper than expected, either could become a serious factor.
That is often how races like Women’s NXT Classic work. The strongest names matter, but so do the riders who read the day well when the structure begins to loosen.
Prediction
Gerritse is the most logical pick because she is the defending champion, and the route shape suits her very well. But this does not feel like a race she simply controls from start to finish. VolkerWessels have enough strength to make things uncomfortable, and Cofidis have enough options to punish hesitation if the race comes back together more than expected.
The safest reading is a reduced-group finish from a front selection rather than a full sprint, and in that kind of scenario, Gerritse, Uneken and Dideriksen look like the clearest podium-level names. De Wilde is the major wildcard, while riders such as Uiterwijk Winkel, Thomson, Caluori, Sander, Swierenga, Wankiewicz and Ungerova sit in the zone where this race often produces its surprise result.
My lean is still towards Femke Gerritse, because this is exactly the sort of race where recent winning memory and the ability to handle repeated Limburg pressure can matter more than a bigger reputation on paper.
