The Vuelta a España opens with a team time trial of 13.4 kilometres. The start ramp is located in Las Salinas de Torrevieja, a Natural Park with pink-hued water lagoons, while the finish is in nearby Torrevieja.
The 2nd stage of the Vuelta a España leads from Benidorm to Calpe. At 199.6 kilometres, the route is far from flat, yet chances are the race will see a sprint finish.
La Vuelta 21 will take off with a prologue where differences among the favourites are expected to be minimal (no more than 10-15 seconds). Burgos will host a time trial for specialists that, as with most races held in an urban setting, will be highly technical.
Second stage and first sprint finale in a particularly generous start to La Vuelta in terms of opportunities for sprinters. This linear stage will help determine which teams have a chance to control the race, in this and in future stages.
The first high-altitude finale, both demanding and unprecedented, will take place in the third stage of La Vuelta 21. Generally flat route, with a finale on the Picón Blanco, a tough mountain pass, with slopes of up to 17% that may mark the first differences among the favourites.
Molina de Aragón will be the second great opportunity for sprinters in La Vuelta 21. Flat stage with an expected mass arrival. The teams with sprinters will have to work hard, should a favourite try to break away following the exhaustion of the Picón Blanco.
Practically flat stage which promises to be another good day for sprinters. The main danger may be the wind. The area where the stage takes place is very open and strong gusts of wind may complicate the day’s racing.
The finale is located high up on a hill where the Cullera Castle is found. The final 1.5 km are uphill, which will make it particularly difficult for sprinters. The stage will be quick and full of uncertainty. It will provide the ideal conditions for breakaways or for a rouleur who has the support of his team to control the stage.
First true mountain stage. Six mountain passes, including two 1st category climbs, will test the peloton. A very tough day, with a constant up and down motion, almost without respite, ideal for the favourites to bare their teeth.
Fourth and final sprint arrival in the first week of La Vuelta 21. It is a very windy area, which may complicate the day’s racing, through it tends to be less so in summer. Favourable day for teams with sprinters who wish to fight for victory in a new mass arrival.
Very tough, pure mountain stage. Over 180 km with slopes totalling almost 4500 m and a similar layout to the stage won by Ryder Hesjedal in 2009: Alto Collado Venta Luisa, Alto de Castro de Filabres and Velefique, all of them concentrated in the second-half of the stage.
Completely flat stage, except for the final stretch. If a successful breakaway takes place, it will make the leaders’ teams and sprinters work hard. The Almáchar mountain pass (a 2nd category climb) is located 15 km before the end of the stage and will make the riders descend very quickly towards the finish-line at Rincón de la Victoria.
Popular steep climb in La Vuelta. A winding route that crosses the provinces of Málaga, Córdoba and Jaén, with a leg-breaking terrain where heat may play a determining factor. The arrival will be very tough, with slopes of over 20% in the final kilometre.
Another finale that is well-known to La Vuelta. The first half of the stage is milder, the second half is tougher, crossing the finish-line twice, with two climbs in the final part. Yet another sprint finale is expected, although the teams will have to work hard to make it happen.
Sprinters will fight it out in one of the final flat stages of La Vuelta 21. A very demanding day for teams with sprinters who will have to brave the heat that is characteristic of this part of Extremadura as well as the almost 200 km that make up the route.
The first half of the stage will be flat, but the second will be very tough, with two climbs of the Pico Villuercas. The first one will happen along three kilometres of concrete with an inclination of 15%. The second, from Guadalupe to the finish-line, is longer. A stage to mark differences in the overall classification.
Long stage with four mountains passes, among them two 1st category climbs, which will test the peloton. The climb up to Mijares (1st category), 40 km from the finish-line, and San Juan de Nava (3rd category), 5 km from the finish-line, will reduce the group. A sprint finale is expected among the favourites, who will have to overcome the climbs and the Ávila heat at that time of year.
Last clear stage for the sprinters of La Vuelta 21. It will take place through a territory similar to that of the stage between Castro Urdiales and Suances, in the race’s 2020 edition. This time, however, the winner will be decided in a mass sprint to the finish-line.
A great stage… with a surprise. Before facing the final leg with the classic climb of the Lagos de Covadonga, the peloton will complete two loops around a circuit including an unprecedented La Vuelta climb: la Collada Llomena (almost 8 km long with slopes reaching an inclination of 14%).
A stage consisting in a little over 150 km, with an elevation gain rarely seen before in La Vuelta. Special category climb and La Vuelta 21 Alberto Fernández peak: 15 km at the unprecedented Altu d’El Gamoniteiru, with a constant climb featuring an inclination of 10-12%, will offer one of the race’s greatest spectacles. Before that, the Puertu de San Ḷḷaurienzu (1st cat), the Altu de La Cobertoria (1st cat) and the Alto la Segá or del Cordal (2nd cat), will impair the riders’ strength as well as their legs.
Mid-mountain Stage that crosses the Fonsagrada area, featuring constant climbs and descents, joining Galicia and the Principality of Asturias. This may be one of the edition’s clearest opportunities for a breakaway. The peloton will be exhausted following one of the hardest mountain stages and the two following days will not make it any easier for them.
This stage promises to be very entertaining for the spectators. The first part, relatively flat, will give way to a mini “classic”. Constant climbs and descents and five short, but tough mountain passes. A lucky “mini Liège Bastogne Liège” just one stage before the end of La Vuelta 21.
Similar route to the final stage of La Vuelta 1993, which also departed from Padrón and ended at Santiago de Compostela. The first half consists of a continuous climb and the second includes more downhill stretches. The route, winding and technical, may be a determining factor with regards to the race’s final outcome.
TTT - 23.3km
175.1 km
193.5 km
153.5 km
187.2 km
182.2 km
Stage 7 : 190 km
Stage 8 : 153.4 km
Stage 9 : 171.4 km
Stage 10 : ITT 30.9km
Stage 11 : 191.2 km
Stage12 : 192.7 km
Stage 13 : 158.4 km
Stage 14 : 160.3 km
Stage 15 : 149.6km
Stage 16 : 189.4km
Stage 17 : 162.3 km
Stage 18 : 192 km
Stage 19 : 138.9km
Stage 20 : 181km
Stage 21 : 96.7km
Barcelona - Barcelona
Mataro - Barcelona
Suria - Arinsal. Andorra
Andorra la Vella - Tarragona
Morella - Burriana
La Val d´Uixó - Pico del Buitre
Utiel - Oliva
Denia - Xorret de Catí
Cartagena - Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca
Valladolid - Valladolid
Lerma - La Laguna Negra
Olvega - Zaragoza
Formigal - Col du Tourmalet
Sauveterre de Bearn - Larra-Belagua
Pamploma - Lekumberri
Liencres Playa - Bejes
Ribadesella - Alta de L´Angliru
Pola de Allende - La Cruz de Linares
La Bañeza - Íscar
Manzanares El Real - Guadarrama
HIpodromo de la Zarzuela - Madrid
