Bredewold Finally Cracks Itzulia Puzzle with Daring Descent

Mischa Bredewold dug deep into all reserves of courage and bike handling to win the Itzulia Women Sunday, pushing herself almost to the point of collapse to overcome what had been a serious gap to her rivals.

The SD Worx-Protime rider was distanced on the climb of Mendizorrotz and went over the summit half a minute back. Undeterred, she put in a defiant display, driving the pursuit on the downhill and rejoining the lead group just 300 meters away from the finish line in San Sebastián.

Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) won the stage in a ten-woman sprint, beating FDJ United-Suez duo Évita Muzic and Lauren Dickson.

Bredewold’s fightback was very impressive one, and saw her end the three-day race 21 seconds ahead of Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Dickson.

She has ridden the race four times in as many years, taking second overall in 2024 and 2025. On both occasions she was in the race lead heading into the final day but lost out, leading to a change in approach.

“I’ve learned from my previous attempts to take the overall victory here,” she said. “Last year I went too hard over my limits at the start of the final climb and blew myself up. So I knew that was my biggest pitfall. It was important to approach the climb intelligently, position myself well and find my own pace.”

“Today I knew the technical descent and the flat section had to be ‘my’ part. I saw them riding ahead and then I had just one goal: catch them. I went so deep, I’ve never experienced that in my life. I almost fainted after the finish. But we made it. The overall victory is in.”

It’s the first stage race victory of her career, and marks a significant milestone for the 2025 Amstel Gold Race champ.

‘She threw herself down the descent’

Bredewold leaped into the leader’s jersey on Friday when she won the hilly opening stage in a five-woman sprint into Zarautz. She beat the climber Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) into second and third, showing she meant business.

Seven seconds clear of Kastelijn starting Saturday, Bredewold further extended her advantage when she was runner-up behind Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) in a 23-woman gallop to the line in Amorebieta-Etxano.

That left her with a 16 second advantage over Kastelijn but with the latter a more natural climber, there was real uncertainty about how the final stage would go. Losing out in previous years while also in the leader’s jersey was worrying, although she and her team resolved to do things differently this time.

“Mischa Bredewold rode a brilliant Itzulia Women,” said directeur sportif Christian Kos. “In the final stage, she fought tooth and nail for her overall victory and fully deserved it.

“She stuck to her own pace and could still see the front group riding in the distance. I had faith in her descending skills. She threw herself down the descent and then made the most of her time trial abilities on the flat. We are proud of her performance.”

Bredewold is too, needless to say. She was in tears at the finish, telling teammates she didn’t believe what had happened.

Things began to sink in when she donned the characteristic cap of the race champion.

“What it means to me to be allowed to wear the ‘Chapella’ of the winner? It makes me emotional,” she said. “The support of the team was incredible. They believed I could pull it off today and that’s why I believed in it myself.

“I’m over the moon with this win.”