The top three riders from last year's UCI Road World Championships will headline three races in Spain's Basque Country this week: Annemiek van Fruten will flash her rainbow band for the first time since winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in March.

She will be up against fellow World Championship medalists Anna van der Breggen, Amanda Spratt, former race winner Marianne Voss, and Ashley Moolman Passio, among other top-notch competitors.

The three Basque races begin on Thursday with the second Emacmén Nafaroaco Classicoa.

The 118.3-km race, which was won last year by Mourman Pacio (CCC-Liv), features two Category 1 climbs in the first half and two Category 2 climbs in the last 40 km, the second of which is 10 km from the finish.

The South African has also been racing well in the virtual world, winning the final stage of the virtual Tour de France this weekend in the Mont Ventoux simulation.

On Friday, the riders will tackle the Clasica Femenina Navarra (122.9 km) in Pamplona. The course features six short climbs, including the steep climb of El Perdon, 20 km from the finish.

The racers will head northeast from Pamplona to Durango-Durango on Sunday.

"I really love racing in the Basque Country, it's one of my favorite places to race," said one of the riders. 'It's a hard course and it's going to be a hard race. It's great to have three races in the region and it's worth the trip.

Van Vleuten's Mitchelton Scott team will field the same six riders for all three races, with 2019 Durango Durango winner Lucy Kennedy joining Spratt and Van Vleuten.

After an unprecedented five-month absence from competition, the women's peloton is itching to get back to work, and these three races are important preparation for next month's first Women's World Tour race, Strade Bianche.

"After so long of uncertainty, it's great to really be back racing," said Jeroen Brilevens, CCC-Liv's sport director. Vos and Moolman-Pasio, four-time Durango winners, will be supported by Sabrina Stultiens, who finished third in the Durango Durango two years ago.

"Everyone in CCC-Liv will be extremely motivated. The season is short, so there are only so many chances to show yourself. The faster the pace, the better. We want to show in the games right away that we are a strong team."

Canyon-SRAM will use 10 riders in the three races. In the Emakmeen Nafaroako Classicoa, Hannah Burns, Elena Cecchini, Ella Harris, Hannah Ludwig, and Omer Shapira will support Alena Amialiushik.

In Krashka Navarra, where sprinting is a strong suit, Burns and Cecchini will support Tanya Ellas, Rotem Gafinowitz, Lisa Klein, and Krista Riffel.

Amiariusik will lead the team on Sunday, along with Elas, Harris, Klein, Ludwig, and Shapira.

"I'm a little nervous before my first race of the 2020 season, but I'm very excited and very happy," Amiariusik said. 'There have been times before when I haven't raced, but it was usually to recover from a broken bone from a fall. These past few months have been a very different experience, being healthy and fit but not racing. I'm hungry to race."

"In every race, I expect an aggressive and active peloton from the start. When everyone has had a long preparation period and wants to show what they have, I expect a very high level of racing," said Amiarczyk.

Mitchelton Scott created his own RACESAFE protocol to limit contact between riders and the media and fans. Spratt expressed confidence in this protection.

"With COVID-19 in mind, we have to take a few different steps and do our part to be responsible," Spratt said. I am confident that with the RACESAFE protocols the team has in place, we can accomplish this."

CCC-Liv said that in addition to monitoring all athletes and staff since the spring, all measures recommended by the UCI have been implemented.

Canyon-SRAM: Alena Amialiushik, Hannah Barnes, Elena Cecchini, Ella Harris, Hannah Ludwig, Omer Shapira, Tanja Elas, Rotem Gafinowitz, Lisa Klein, Krista Riffel

Mitchelton. Scott: Janneke Ensing, Lucy Kennedy, Amanda Spratt, Annemike van Fruten, Georgia Williams, Moniek Tenigro

CCC-Liv: Marta Jaskulska, Jeanne Kolevar, Ashley Moolman Passio , Pauliena Loijackers, Sabrina Stultiens, and Marianne Voss.

Boels Dolmans Chantal van den Broek-Braak, Renneke Uneken, Eva Bourgmann, Christine Majerus, Anna van der Breggen, and Carol-Ann Canuel