European Championships Ljubljana women's elite road race 2026 preview, profile, favourites & predictions - Vollering, Niewiadoma, Reusser and Longo Borghini go to war again
Cycling
On the 3rd of October 2026, the European Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia, have the women's elite road race as the first major event. Elisa Longo Borghini, Marlen Reusser and more will battle for the iconic European jersey. Below, you will find the favourites for the race, the route and a preview.
The women's road race European Championships were first held in 2016 and immediately historical figures took to the start and began taking victories, quickly bringing this race into one of the most prestigious positions in the calendar.
Anna van der Breggen was the first winner of the race, and the following year the legend Marianne Vos took her only title to date on this race. In 2018 Marta Bastianelli took the title, in what ended up being a special year as up to date, it has been the only non-Dutch victory.
Amy Pieters, Annemiek van Vleuten, Ellen van Dijk, Lorena Wiebes (2023 and 2025) and Mischa Bredewold have all taken victories for the Netherlands, whilst Demi Vollering took her first title in 2025.
Profile: Ljubljana - Sencur
Ljubljana - Sencur, 131 kilometers
The race will begin in Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana, moving through Komenda - the hometown of the absent Tadej Pogacar - and then will move towards the final circuit which will decide the race.
The race is 131 kilometers in length, and features just over 1300 meters of climbing. Unlike the World Championships, the circuit is rather simply, with one obvious feature: the climb to Mozjanca which is 2.1 kilometers long at just 10%. The climb will be tackled on two different occasions.
The riders descend back into Sencur, where the finale will be held. In the final lap, the riders will be 14.5 kilometers away from the finish line at this point. The summit of the climb is followed by a small plateau section of about 3.5 kilometers in distance.
After a fast descent, only the final 5 kilometers will truly be flat, meaning that putting on a chase over such terrain is difficult. However, the climb will be quite difficult on each occasion, and the endurance aspect will not be as present as at the World Championships.
Preview 2026 women's elite road race European championships
The Netherlands had the strongest team at the World Championships and they used it to set Demi Vollering up for attack. With the rainbow jersey on her back, she will be the main favourite, but the same tactics aren't to be expected as she will not get to wear the jersey if she wins.
Vollering could well play a key tactical role with a more conservative race whilst the likes of Puck Pieterse and Riejanne Markus may go on the attack and try to capture the title. Lorena Wiebes' presence also raises questions, in a sprint she would be the undeniable favourite but a race situation in which she arrives with the chance to win the race is unlikely.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma will certainly try to make the difference uphill but in this type of race she has often been beaten by Vollering, and hasn't seemingly been able to use the right tactics to do so. A win is unlikely. Elisa Longo Borghini and Marlen Reusser are quite strong uphill but it's on the plateau section that they might attack to victory - specially the latter who could then be impossible to bring back.
Paula Blasi leads the way for Spain; Germany have Franziska Koch and Antonia Niedermaier; whilst France also have a very strong collective featuring Cédrine Kerbaol and Juliette Berthet in the lead, who could prove to be a headache for everyone else in the bunch.
Prediction 2026 women's elite road race European championships
*** Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, Puck Pieterse
** Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Marlen Reusser
* Lorena Wiebes, Paula Blasi, Dominika Wlodarczyk, Juliette Berthet, Cédrine Kerbaol, Franziska Koch, Antonia Niedermaier
Pick: Puck Pieterse
How: Late attack.
Read also
List of winners of the women's elite road race European championships
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2025 | Demi Vollering | Kasia Niewiadoma | Anna van der Breggen |
| 2024 | Lorena Wiebes | Elisa Balsamo | Daria Pikulik |
| 2023 | Mischa Bredewold | Lorena Wiebes | Lotte Kopecky |
| 2022 | Lorena Wiebes | Elisa Balsamo | Rachele Barbieri |
| 2021 | Ellen van Dijk | Liane Lippert | Rasa Leleivytė |
| 2020 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Elisa Longo Borghini | Kasia Niewiadoma |
| 2019 | Amy Pieters | Elena Cecchini | Lisa Klein |
| 2018 | Marta Bastianelli | Marianne Vos | Lisa Brennauer |
| 2017 | Marianne Vos | Giorgia Bronzini | Olga Zabelinskaya |
| 2016 | Anna van der Breggen | Kasia Niewiadoma | Elisa Longo Borghini |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- It would be sooo romantic for Vollering to lead out the Dutch team for one of her team mates to take the win - if they’re able to take the win, of course. Either way, I hope this race is as exciting as the women WC’s!anonymouscyclist02-10-2026
- Male rider, right? This article drawers similarities to when Andy Murray corrected a reporter during a Wimbledon post-match press conference, in 2017, after being told that Sam Querrey was the first U.S. player to reach a major semi-final since 2009. Let’s make sure we clarify this is a male record, because this ‘rarely-seen statistic’ was not seen for first time in 27 years, but… in 1 year. Magdeleine Vallieres, 2025, WC first win of her season.anonymouscyclist02-10-2026
- I think non of us believe it. Issue is that the world champs jersey will be seen as bottle carrier and i cannot see mcnulty leading as classic races or even winning stages. It will not show world champs jersey in a good light alas.paultryan200202-10-2026
- Where does it say that? That is your biased opinion which just goes to show how biased our general education towards such subjects is. Instead of commenting on the inaccuracies of the comment, why don’t you question the oversight, lack of detail or precision of the article? Why is women’s sport almost always systematically ignored in a non gendered article on sport?Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- Assuming at some point (unlike the Horners and Gianettis who had their peaks after they should have retired) TP will tire out, it will be very interesting to see how UAE evolve. A demise like Sky maybe?Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- You’re « back »?Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- If they have such advanced training strategies no other team can match, how do they keep it secret, how do they deal with people getting paid to leak info or riders switching teams?.Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- Best go check you’re not at the bottom of that list now Nils, friends is a very precarious term in some circles.Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- Alternatively, just raise (or let it rise and pretend you’re powerless to stop it) the price of oil a bit more and turn him into a pacemaker ;-)Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
- They managed something the Dutch ladies never did but at least they were smart enough to stop trying ;-)Jumpyjohn02-10-2026
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