Preview, favourites, profile, route and predictions European Championships 2025 women's elite road race - Vollering, Longo Borghini and Reusser the headliners
Cycling
The European Championships on the women's side will have its grand finale on the 4th of October as the riders tackle the road race. We preview the race featuring some of the best climbers and classics specialists in the world. This race is expected to start at 14:00CET and finish at 17:00CET.
The European Road Championships for women began in the 1990s as the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) added continental-level titles to complement national and world events. The women’s road race has since become one of the more coveted jerseys on the calendar. This year the race will take place in the French region of Drôme-Ardèche, familiar to the riders, and with profiles that suit the climbers and classics specialists, unlike last year's sprinter fest.
Looking back over recent years, the Netherlands has often dominated the podiums. In 2023, Mischa Bredewold claimed gold, with Lorena Wiebes taking silver and Lotte Kopecky bronze. Then in 2024, Lorena Wiebes surged to the top spot ahead of Elisa Balsamo in second and Daria Pikulik in third.
Profile: Privas - Guilherand-Granges
Privas - Guilherand-Granges, 116.5 kilometers
The race starts off in Privas and it is a course for the climbers. Right from the gun there is a 4-kilometer ascent that can be used by some teams to put strong riders in the breakaway, which can be used to put pressure on rivals or be used later in the race at some point.
There are 116.5 kilometers towards Gulherand-Granges, although the riders reach the finish line for the first time after only 64 kilometers, after climbing the decisive ascent of the day early on. The key part of the race however will begin at kilometer 72 with the ascent of Saint Romain de Lerps.
The climb is 7 kilometers long at 7.2%, and in the women's field this can make serious differences. The climb is long and rather steep, ending with 37 kilometers to go and the pure climbers can use it to create serious differences - those that are not explosive certainly will make this gamble.
The race then enters the final circuit which includes two ascents of the Val d'Enfer. The climb will be finished with 23.5 and 6.5 kilometers to go, it is 1.5 kilometers long at a very steep 10%. It's long enough that it won't be explosive and the climbers will be those most likely to make the difference. There is a small hilltop rider after the ascent, and then a fast descent that leads into the final 3 flat kilometers. A solo victory is quite likely.
Read also
The Favourites
In a circuit that has similar difficulties to that of Kigali, we should have a relatively similar list of favourites, however without first and second Vallieres and Fisher-Black who can not compete in this event. At the head of the game we most likely have the Dutch led by Demi Vollering, who have Anna van der Breggen - who may play a role if she doesn't have an off-day as in Kigali, but also Shirin van Anrooij, Pauliena Rooijakkers and Riejanne Markus as weapons to use tactically throughout the race.
Elisa Longo Borghini showed great form in Kigali and will lead the Italian team and like her, Marlen Reusser is also going to be a huge threat. The Swiss rider may not thrive in this circuit however as it consists of short and steep climbs, not ideal for the time-trial world champion. However no-one can neglect Elise Chabbey, who was the top finisher in Kigali out of the riders who didn't make it in the winning attack.
The French, racing at home, also have good chances of succeeding taking into consideration their very strong team even though they are missing the ill Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous and Evita Muzic are all solid options to take the European jersey. Alongside these we will have Kigali's bronze medal the veteran Mavi García leading Spain, Katarzyna Niewiadoma leading Poland, Liane Lippert leading Germany, Cecillie Uttrup Ludwig leading Denmark and Urska Zigart leading Slovenia as viable options for a top result.
Demi Vollering. @Sirotti
Prediction European Championships women's elite road race 2025:
*** Demi Vollering, Elise Chabbey, Elisa Longo Borghini
** Marlen Reusser, Juliette Labous, Anna van der Breggen, Katarzyna Niewiadoma
* Shirin van Anrooij, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Riejanne Markus, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic, Mavi Garcia, Urska Zigart, Cecillie Uttrup Ludwig
** Marlen Reusser, Juliette Labous, Anna van der Breggen, Katarzyna Niewiadoma
* Shirin van Anrooij, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Riejanne Markus, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic, Mavi Garcia, Urska Zigart, Cecillie Uttrup Ludwig
Pick: Elisa Longo Borghini
How: Small group sprint.
Original: Rúben Silva
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment