On stage 2 of La Vuelta Femenina, Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) won the day’s only QOM sprint and took the polka-dot jersey. The 25-year-old then fought hard to stay in the lead of the mountain classification all the way to stage 8, where she remained aggressive with two breakaway efforts in a bid to keep the polka-dot jersey.
But the finishing climb to Valdesquí on Sunday provided extra points in the QOM competition, so Swinkels had extra work to do in holding off a charge by overall leader Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime). The plan to hold off the eventual overall winner lasted with just a few kilometres remaining in the 89.5km stage, but she walked away with her head held high.
“I tried my best every stage until the end and enjoyed racing aggressively. I really gave my all on the last stage so I would go home with no regrets,” Swinkels told Cyclingnews after the final stage of the race.
Going into the race, she had no special ambitions on the mountain classification and only saw the Puerto de L’Oronet climb on stage 2 as an opportunity to test herself. Once the white jersey with dots in purple, turquoise and yellow was hers, Swinkels would not give it up without a fight.
“I wanted to test my legs as I came from a long period of training. Taking the QOM jersey was a really nice reward for that. Of course, it became a goal from then on,” she talked about stage 2 where she also sprinted to a third place.
On stage 3, Swinkels took mountain points from the peloton to defend the jersey, and during stage 5, she was first over the second-category Alto de la Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña before Vollering won the stage on the finishing climb, taking her first mountain points.
The next day, Swinkels held on to the polka-dot jersey by the narrowest of margins: Runner-up on stage 6 that finished with the first-category climb to La Laguna Negra, Vollering had equalled Swinkels’ 20 points. But as both had been first on one category 2 climb, the Puerto de L’Oronet from stage 2 was the tiebreaker.
On the morning of stage 8, the race organisers announced that the day’s finishing climb to Valdesquí, marked as a first-category climb in the roadbook, would be the year’s Cima Estela Domínguez and give more points than the first-category Puerto de La Morcuera during the stage.
“I think how the points were given for the QOM was maybe not the best. If you want the GC leader to also win the polka-dot jersey, then it’s a good way. The way the race developed, without any breakaway going to the final, it's almost impossible for any other rider to win the jersey if there are so many points to get on the last stage,” said Swinkels on this belated change.
Nevertheless, the 25-year-old stayed true to her word. She made it into the day’s breakaway of 13 riders and held her own on the Puerto de La Morcuera, staying with Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek) and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) when the latter attacked.
Eventually, she couldn’t follow any more, and the break was caught before the top. But Swinkels recovered in the descent and went on the attack again, trying to get as much time on the GC favourites before the finishing climb began.
Swinkels got a one-minute head start on the climb, but in the end her almost quixotic endeavour was for nothing as she was caught a third of the way up the climb and Vollering went on to take both the mountain and general classifications.
“I am proud of this Vuelta anyway. I’m satisfied to go home with a podium, six days in the polka-dot jersey, doing multiple breakaways and supporting our GC leaders. I'm looking forward to the next races,” Swinkels finished.
