Marianne Vos, Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Balsamo start seasons at Setmana Valenciana

The Setmana Ciclista Valenciana gets underway on Thursday afternoon and will see riders like Marianne Vos, Kasia Niewiadoma, Elisa Balsamo, Marlen Reusser and Kristen Faulkner starting their 2024 road seasons.

After the Women's WorldTour got underway in far-flung countries with the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour, attention is turning back to European races ahead of Opening Weekend, and riders who didn’t make trips away are starting their racing campaigns.

Marianne Vos’ return to racing is perhaps the big story at the four-day long Setmana Valenciana, as she’s pinning on a number for Visma-Lease a Bike for the first time since last August, after another iliac artery surgery blighted her off-season and prevented her from racing any cyclo-cross.

“I love the competition and I’m looking forward to racing again,” Vos said ahead of the race. “For me, having fun and being fit are the foundation for results. I’m convinced that the results will follow when these factors are in place.”

Read more: Setmana Ciclista Valenciana 2024 start list

Vos, who has won 250 road races in her career, comes into this race as a slight unknown quantity, but the mix of sprint and climbing stages give the Dutchwoman four days to get back into race rhythm before the Classics kick off.

Also lining up in Valencia will be gravel world champion Kasia Niewiadoma, who is starting off what will be a campaign centred around the Tour de France Femmes, and will be a contender for the overall in Spain.

The Pole hasn’t raced since her pair of big gravel wins – at the World Championships and Big Sugar – last October but finished second overall in the last stage race she did, so will be a rider to watch this week.

In the sprints, Elisa Balsamo is starting her season the same way she did in 2023, when she won back-to-back stages at this race. The former world champion is coming off a track block, which should lend itself well to the sprints, as Balsamo looks to make up for a 2023 that was derailed by a big crash in May.

“At Valenciana, a long and demanding season begins,” she said. “I think it’s important to have clear goals to achieve, as well as to give myself time for physical and mental recovery between one and the next. Keeping an optimal condition until August, at the Olympics, will be impossible, but I am clear about where I want to have my peaks.

“2023 is definitely behind me and I don’t have regrets, but it did leave something to learn from," she added. "I don’t have any feeling of revenge, nor the pressure of having to prove something. I just want to start and do everything to the best of my ability in order to reach the goals I have set for myself.”

Read more: Five takeaways from the Santos Tour Down Under

Elsewhere, SD Worx-Protime – who have not always included this race on their calendar – are sending a strong squad to Spain, including Marlen Reusser, European champion Mischa Bredewold, and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, who is making her return to competition after maternity leave.

America’s Kristen Faulkner is also making her debut for both this year and with her new team, EF Education-Cannondale, after competing with Team USA at the Track World Cup in Adelaide earlier this month.

With so many riders already racing or making their debut this week, only a few big names are yet to start their season. The biggest star is Demi Vollering, who is set to start her year at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, whilst we’re also waiting to see Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Chloé Dygert kick off their 2024 road seasons.

For information, results and standings from the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, visit our dedicated race hub.