A mountain-heavy course with more than 58 000 meters of climbing will be on the menu of the Spanish three-week race.
The full route of next year’s Vuelta a España (22 August-13 September) was unveiled Wednesday evening in Monaco, from where the season’s third and final Grand Tour will get underway. A 9.6km individual time trial followed just two days later by the first summit finish of the race, on Fort Romeu, should make for some early gaps between the general classification contenders. Andorra is also set to return on the course, this time with a short but intense stage, while Aramon Valdelinares and Alto de Aitana will further test the red jersey favourites before the first rest day.
Calar Alto and La Pandera promise to be the highlights of a second week which will see the peloton visit one of Spain’s most beautiful cities, Cordoba, once home to the biggest library in the world and a hub for science, art, architecture and philosophy. Andalusia is set to play a major role at the 81st edition, which schedules a second ITT, this time 32.5 kilometers in length, on the roads to Jerez de la Frontera.
Peñas Blancas and Collado del Alguacil – where the queen stage will culminate after more than 5000 meters of climbing – will be the last two mountain tests of the race before the spectacular finale in Granada. There, a sharp climb not far from the famous Alhambra will be tackled by the bunch four times, thus keeping the GC men alert right until the end.
Soudal Quick-Step’s Mikel Landa, who has eight participations in the Vuelta, shared his thoughts on the parcours: “There aren’t any surprises. It’s a very hard edition, with the first big mountains coming early and a lot of uphill finishes. Having so many stages in the south means that the heat could also be an important factor. It’s a demanding course that gives plenty of opportunities to the climbers and keeps the GC fight open until the last day, and the fans will love that.”
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