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Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa Women 2026 preview: climbers on Basque roads

Vollering, Niewiadoma, Ferrand-Prevot, Chabbey and Muzic make San Sebastian a women's climbing classic where the winning move can come before the final climb.

Favorites

Demi Vollering

Vollering is the clearest climbing favorite, but Niewiadoma, Ferrand-Prevot, Elise Chabbey and Evita Muzic all fit the race if it becomes aggressive.

Kasia Niewiadoma

Kasia Niewiadoma has the climbing or all-round profile to stay in the overall race when the route starts taking time.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot belongs in the GC tier because the race should reward repeatability, not one isolated attack.

Elise Chabbey

Elise Chabbey gives Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa Women another credible overall option if the top favorite is forced to defend early.

Évita Muzic

Évita Muzic can move up if the race is decided by positioning, recovery and small gaps rather than one set-piece climb.

Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa Women 2026

San Sebastian is a race where the strongest climber still has to manage nerves, descents and Basque timing. The women’s edition should reward a rider who can attack without waiting for a perfect finish.

Why this race matters

The race is a major post-Tour marker for the riders who want one-day prestige after stage-race blocks.

Route and pressure points

The climbs are hard enough to remove most sprinters and frequent enough to make team control fragile.

Favorites for the overall

Vollering is the clearest climbing favorite, but Niewiadoma, Ferrand-Prevot, Elise Chabbey and Evita Muzic all fit the race if it becomes aggressive. The current favorites card is led by Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Elise Chabbey and Évita Muzic.

What could change the race

If Demi Vollering is isolated, Kasia Niewiadoma or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot can turn the race into a duel before the final kilometers.

Recent context

Basque one-day racing has a pattern of rewarding riders who commit before the obvious favorite can reset the race.