Organizers of the Serratizit Challenge by La Vuelta have announced the route for the five-day expansion race, which will take place from September 7-11, calling it "the toughest route ever." The varied route will traverse northern and central Spain and will feature five stages for the first time, one more than the previous race.

The race was confirmed to have been expanded at the official route presentation for the men's Vuelta a España at the Palacio Municipal-IFEMA in Madrid last December, but at that time only limited details were available for the women.

"The importance in the Women's World Tour calendar is evident in the extremely high level of participation in 2021. We have to meet the demands of the players and make it the toughest route ever," said Javier Guillén, then general director of Unipublic.

The official presentation of the route took place at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander and was attended by Pablo Zuloaga, vice president of the Cantabrian government, and Guillén.

Organizers revealed that this year's race will begin with a team time trial in the Cantabrian seaside town of Marina de Cudeyo. The route will continue almost due south for five days, finishing in Madrid on September 11.

The race will remain in the Cantabrian region for the second stage, which will tackle five mountain passes. Two of them are Category 1 climbs, including the 3.2 km long Campo La Cruz with a gradient of 8%.

Another mountainous stage awaits the following day from Camargo to Aguilar de Campo. The biggest challenge will be the 16-km Hoces de Barcena (after a small Category 3 climb) with an average gradient of 3.4%.

Stage 4 is the longest in the event's history at 160km, and is mostly flat but with an uphill climb at the finish.

Finally, the race concludes with a circuit in the city center of Madrid on September 11.

The race in the Spanish capital marks a return to the roots of the Serratigit Challenge. American Shelley Olds (then of the Bigla Pro Cycling Team) won the inaugural event, but as the race has added more stages over the years, it has suited GC riders like Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar), who last won the red jersey in 2021.

Adding stages to existing races created a trend that other race organizers followed. The one-day race La Course morphed into the eight-day Tour de France Femme in July, the RideLondon Classic returned to a three-day event, and the Tour of Scandinavia also gained two additional stages this season.