Mischa Bredewold won Itzulia Women 2026 after surviving a tense final stage around Donostia, sealing the overall title for Team SD Worx-Protime after three days of aggressive racing in the Basque Country. The Dutch rider had led since winning the opening stage in Zarautz, but she still had to fight for the jersey on the final day after being distanced on Mendizorrotz before chasing back into the front group in the closing kilometres.
Dominika Wlodarczyk completed an outstanding weekend by winning the final stage, backing up her stage 2 victory in Amorebieta-Etxano with another sprint win from the front group in Donostia. The UAE Team ADQ rider had already taken her first Women’s WorldTour victory on stage 2, and her repeat win on stage 3 turned her into one of the defining riders of the race, even if the overall title stayed with Bredewold.
Bredewold finished the race with a final time of 10:15:56, 21 seconds ahead of Yara Kastelijn, with Lauren Dickson completing the podium on the same time as Kastelijn. Riejanne Markus finished fourth at 22 seconds, while Antonia Niedermaier rounded out the top five at 29 seconds.
How Bredewold won Itzulia Women 2026
Bredewold’s overall victory was built on her stage 1 win in Zarautz, where she sprinted fastest from a select group of five after a hard, rain-affected opening day. That stage immediately put her in control of the yellow jersey, but it also showed how difficult the race would be to manage with small gaps and several climbing-capable rivals still close.
Stage 2 then tested that control. Wlodarczyk and Shirin van Anrooij attacked late and narrowly held off the chasing yellow jersey group, with Wlodarczyk taking the win and Bredewold finishing third. The result did not remove Bredewold from the lead, but it made clear that her rivals could still disrupt Team SD Worx-Protime if they attacked at the right moment.
The final stage was the real examination. On the Donostia loop, Mendizorrotz created the decisive split, and Bredewold had to chase back after being distanced. That recovery was the ride that secured the title. She did not need to win the stage. She needed to stay calm, descend well, and make sure the gaps did not open far enough to put the overall in danger. By rejoining the front group before the finish, she closed the race on her own terms.
Photo Credit: Sprint Cycling AgencyItzulia Women 2026 general classification
Bredewold’s winning margin was narrow enough to reflect how closely fought the race had been, but large enough to show the value of consistency across all three stages. She won stage 1, finished third on stage 2, then limited the damage on stage 3 when the race briefly turned against her.
Final general classification:
- Mischa Bredewold – 10:15:56
- Yara Kastelijn – +0:21
- Lauren Dickson – +0:21
- Riejanne Markus – +0:22
- Antonia Niedermaier – +0:29
- Évita Muzic – +0:36
- Usoa Ostolaza – +0:43
- Juliette Berthet – +0:43
- Dominika Wlodarczyk – +0:44
- Ricarda Bauernfeind – +0:45
Kastelijn’s second place was built through repeated consistency rather than one dominant move. She was second on stage 1, remained close through stage 2, and stayed inside the decisive front group on the final day. Dickson’s podium was another major result for FDJ United-SUEZ, helped by a strong final stage where the team placed multiple riders in the front group.
Photo Credit: Sprint Cycling AgencyWlodarczyk turns stage wins into the biggest story of the weekend
Wlodarczyk did not win the overall, but no rider left Itzulia Women 2026 with more stage momentum. Her stage 2 victory was already a breakthrough, with the Polish rider outsprinting Van Anrooij after the pair held off the chasing yellow jersey group by metres.
Winning again in Donostia changed the scale of that weekend. The final stage was not a reduced bunch sprint delivered neatly by a lead-out. It came after the race had split on the climbs, after Bredewold had been distanced and chased back, and after a front group of strong GC riders reached the finish together. Wlodarczyk beat Évita Muzic and Lauren Dickson in that sprint, confirming that her stage 2 win was not a one-off.
Her ninth place overall at 44 seconds does not fully capture her impact on the race. She shaped both of the final two stages and gave UAE Team ADQ a pair of WorldTour stage wins from a race where timing, nerve and late acceleration mattered as much as pure climbing strength.
Kastelijn wins the mountains classification
Yara Kastelijn finished second overall and also won the mountains classification, underlining how consistently present she had been across the three stages. She had taken the lead in the classification earlier in the race and defended it through the final day.
Final mountains classification:
- Yara Kastelijn – 33 points
- Antonia Niedermaier – 20 points
- Lauren Dickson – 8 points
- Steffi Häberlin – 8 points
- Nikola Noskova – 6 points
Kastelijn’s overall performance was exactly the kind of ride that suits Itzulia Women. She climbed well enough to score and survive every important selection, but also had the finishing speed and tactical presence to stay in the GC fight. Second overall and the mountains jersey made it a strong weekend for Fenix-Premier Tech.
Bredewold also takes the points classification
Bredewold’s consistency gave her the points classification as well as the overall title. She finished with 91 points, ahead of Wlodarczyk on 57 and Liane Lippert on 56.
Final points classification:
- Mischa Bredewold – 91 points
- Dominika Wlodarczyk – 57 points
- Liane Lippert – 56 points
- Usoa Ostolaza – 41 points
- Yara Kastelijn – 40 points
That classification tells the story of Bredewold’s race clearly. She was not just defending yellow after one good day. She was in the mix throughout, scoring on stage finishes and intermediate opportunities while repeatedly returning to the front when the race became selective.
Wlodarczyk’s second place in the points standings also reflects how strong her final two days were. Two stage wins made her the race’s standout finisher, even though Bredewold’s broader consistency carried the overall and the points jersey.
Ema Comte wins the young rider classification
Ema Comte won the young rider classification for Cofidis Women Team, finishing well clear of Talia Appleton and Megan Arens. Comte’s final time was 10:18:42, placing her 2:46 behind Bredewold overall and giving Cofidis a classification victory from the race.
Final young rider classification:
- Ema Comte – 10:18:42
- Talia Appleton – +6:38
- Megan Arens – +8:47
- Paula Ostiz – +10:17
- Justyna Czapla – +12:58
The young rider classification was less compressed than the GC battle, but it still mattered as a marker of depth. In a race as technical and selective as Itzulia Women, simply staying consistent across all three stages is a meaningful result for developing riders.
FDJ United-SUEZ win the team classification
FDJ United-SUEZ won the team classification after placing Lauren Dickson on the overall podium and Évita Muzic and Juliette Berthet inside the top 10. Their final team time was 30:49:45, with Lidl-Trek second at 9:20 and Team SD Worx-Protime third at 9:35.
Final team classification:
- FDJ United-SUEZ – 30:49:45
- Lidl-Trek – +9:20
- Team SD Worx-Protime – +9:35
- Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi – +14:37
- Human Powered Health – +18:14
FDJ United-SUEZ were one of the strongest collective units of the race. Dickson’s podium was the headline, but Muzic and Berthet gave the team depth in the decisive final stage. That mattered in a race where team strength could be used to isolate Bredewold, even if it was not quite enough to take the overall title from her.
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Photo Credit: Getty
What Itzulia Women 2026 showed
Itzulia Women 2026 was not decided by one summit finish or one overwhelming display. It was decided by positioning, bonus seconds, descending, reduced sprints and the ability to stay composed when the race refused to settle.
Bredewold’s victory was impressive because it combined speed with survival. She won the opening stage, absorbed pressure on stage 2, then fought back on the final day when the overall briefly looked vulnerable. That makes this more than a straightforward leader’s jersey defence. It was a race she had to keep winning tactically, even when she was no longer the strongest rider on the climb.
Wlodarczyk left with two stage wins and a much larger profile than she had at the start of the weekend. Kastelijn confirmed her consistency with second overall and the mountains jersey. Dickson gave FDJ United-SUEZ a WorldTour podium, while Niedermaier, Muzic, Ostolaza, Berthet and Bauernfeind all showed why the Basque race remains such a useful test for riders who can handle repeated climbs and aggressive racing.
For the wider Women’s WorldTour, it was another reminder of why Itzulia Women has become such a valuable stage race. It is short, but rarely simple. The climbs are hard enough to matter, the gaps are small enough to keep the race alive, and the final kilometres often reward riders who are prepared to gamble.
Itzulia Women 2026 Result
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