Featured image courtesy of gettyimages
Another Vuelta a España about to begin. The final grand tour of the year, a 76th edition of the Tour of Spain featuring brutal climbs among Europe’s most mountainous country. From Saturday 14th August to Sunday 5th September, 3,417 km from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, it’s a three week bike race with five summit finish, endless amounts of climbing and an unusual amount of stages suited to a sprinter. All the action is bookended by time trials, on Stage 1 in Burgos and for the first time since 2014, the Vuelta will not finish traditionally in Madrid, a final race against the clock will literally carry this grand tour right to the line on Stage 21.
Entirely within Spain due to COVID-19, below is the overall route map but what does week one of the 76th Vuelta have in store?
Saturday 14th August: Stage 1 Burgos (Individual Time Trial)
La Vuelta opens with an individual time trial of 7.1 km. The city circuit in Burgos climbs to the ruined castle in the first 2.5 km before a descent takes the riders to the last 4 km on the flat.
Starting from inside the Burgos Cathedral, the riders then exit the gothic building through its main entrance to enter a first ascent at approximately 5%. A short drop and the route continues on another climb. This one is 1.2 km long and climbs at 7.1% to Burgos Castle. The first part is steep, while there’s also a cobbled sector of 200 m.
The only time check is at the top but following a descent the last 3.5 km of the time trial are played out on the flat. The race returns to the cathedral for a finish outside of the building.
It’s the first ever Grand Salida (grand start) in Burgos, although La Vuelta has visited the town in northern Spain plenty of times including fifteen stage starts and seventeen stage finishes. The last time was six years ago, when the 17th stage saw Tom Dumoulin storm into the red jersey with a dominant ITT victory on an undulating course.
This opening stage will be perfect for the defending champion and looking for a third Vuelta in a row, Primož Roglič. Last year, Roglič was defending his title also when he won the first stage to the Arrate Sanctuary. He added three more stage wins before celebrating his second consecutive GC triumph at La Vuelta in Madrid. The ITT start is perfect for the Slovenian to begin this edition in a similar fashion.
Other contenders to take the first red jersey could include INEOS Grenadiers domestique Dylan Van Baarle, expect Team DSM’s Chad Haga to have a good run and although he’s a sprinter that can climb too, Michael Matthews for Team BikeExchange can post a decent time trial on a good day.
Sunday 15th August: Stage 2 Caleruega – Burgos (Flat)
At 166.7 km, Stage 2 plays out between Caleruega and Burgos, the first of six stages where it doesn’t get much flatter than this in Spain. After the start in Caleruega, the riders traverse the Castilian-Leonese plain for the rest of the day where a bunch sprint is next to certain.
Winning two stages, Pascal Ackermann was the most successful sprinter in last year’s edition of La Vuelta. Two years ago, both Fabio Jakobsen and Sam Bennett powered to two sprint victories.
Jaboksen is back to earn some more sprints for Deceuninck-Quick Step, where last year’s Vuelta was his first grand tour. After a disappointing appearance without a Tour de France stage victory, Arnaud Démare will be expected to deliver and what about Alpecin-Fenix pair Jasper Philipsen and Edward Planckaert? The Belgian team already have stages won at the Giro and Tour on their debut grand tour season, can they complete the hat-rick?
Monday 16th August: Stage 3 Santo Domingo de Silos – Picón Blanco (Summit Finish)
La Vuelta serves the first mountain top finish on the third day of action. The 202.8 km race finishes at the Picón Blanco, which is a 7.8 km climb at 9.3%.
The first phase goes either up or down before the rider’s crest Puerto de Manquillo at kilometre 39. A long descent at shallow gradients with a number of short uphill kicks takes the peloton towards the midway point of the race.
The riders enter a flat zone of 70 km before the Alto de Bocos appears, a 2.8 km climb at 6.3%.
The descent leads onto a false flat – first up, then down – before the riders move through Espinosa de los Monteros, a village at the foot of the Picón Blanco at an elevation of 762 m. The climb leads to an abandoned military base at 1,468 m. The average gradient of 9.3% is biased as the 7.6 km ascent begins relatively shallow, while it climbs kilometres long at more than 10% in the second half.
In recent years, the finish climb was included on the Vuelta a Burgos. Mikel Landa (2017), Miguel Ángel López (2018), Iván Sosa (2019), and Remco Evenepoel (2020) took the spoils at the top, while the last week’s edition finished with a descent of the Picón Blanco. Romain Bardet reached the top in first position to extend his lead in the downhill.
Obviously, the race comes down to the Picón Blanco. The 7.8 km at 9.3% peaks out at 15% in the final kilometre. The question that looms above the race is whether or not the breakaway will be given enough leash to fight for the stage win. If so, the stage winner is likely to ride into the red jersey.
Early GC battle or a breakaway? Of all the top climbers at this Vuelta, Wout Poels might be one name you’d think would be in the mix. The Dutchman held the polka-dot jersey at the Tour last month but couldn’t find a stage win and win the jersey overall.
Tuesday 17th August: Stage 4 El Burgo de Osma – Molina de Aragón (Flat)
At 163.9 km, the 4th stage of la Vuelta travels on gently undulating terrain from El Burgo de Osma to Molina de Aragón. Odds are that we’ll see a bunch sprint in the coldest place of Spain.
Both El Burgo de Osma and Molina de Aragón never hosted the Vuelta a España before. The riders penetrate the plains northeast of Madrid. Although the route is not entirely flat, the inclinations are so shallow that there are no KOM points available.
Timing will be crucial for the fast men, as the last kilometre of the race runs slightly uphill.
Located at an elevation of 1,065 m, Molina de Aragón is one of the coldest places in Spain. In fact, last January the record was set at -25.2°C. On the other hand, it’s August and a possible cold wave will not be the rider’s main concern. Quite the opposite. A heat stroke is more obvious in temperates easily reaching around 35 degrees Celsius.
On sizzling hot plains of central Spain, this stage hardly goes above 3% in gradient. Depending on how much freedom he’ll have, this could be a stage that Tom Pidcock might target. A four-time stage winner at the 2017 Vuelta, Matteo Trentin for UAE-Team Emirates is another sprinter you have to consider in an up-front bunch.
Wednesday 18th August: Stage 5 Tarancón – Albacete (Flat)
This Vuelta is a real treat for the sprinters. Two successive days on the flat is unprecedented for this grand tour. 184.4 km in total, Stage 5 is the flattest of the entire three weeks.
La Vuelta has never visited Tarancón before. The town with a population of 15,000 inhabitants lies 100 km southeast of Madrid. The route runs in a south-easterly direction and moves through Belmonte – famous for its castle – and the small industrial town of La Roda. No mountains, but long and straight and exposed roads through the sun-baked Spanish interior on the way to Albacete.
Albacete and La Vuelta share a long history where the race has started and finished 21 times in the largest city of Castilla–La Mancha. The last time was in 2014, when Nacer Bouhanni outsprinted both Michael Matthews and Peter Sagan.
Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen, Matteo Trentin, Michael Matthews and Arnaud Démare – these are the five fast men we expect to contest across the three weeks.
Thursday 19th August: Stage 6 Requena – Cullera (Hills)
Stage 6 is vintage Vuelta. 158.3 km between Requena and Cullera, the finale of this stage features a punchy climb with double digit gradients.
The race sets of from Requena, located at an elevation of almost 700 metres. The first half of the route goes predominantly downhill, although the riders tackle some minor climbs along the way as well. Nothing to worry about though and no KOM points are available.
The route reaches sea level at kilometre 75 and continues on the flat towards the finish climb. The last 1.9 km climb to the castle above Cullera. The average gradient of the final test sits at 9.4%.
In last year’s Tour of Valencia Tadej Pogačar outgunned Alejandro Valverde and Dylan Teuns on the Cullera finish climb. although that finish was located 1.2 km higher up the hill, near the weather station. Expect Valverde to be in the mix to win this stage, Mikel Landa should be involved and if Primož Roglič is in red after taking the opening TT and keeping the jersey after previous stages, this could be a platform for him to attack further.
Friday 20th August: Stage 7 Gandía – Balcón de Alicante (Hills)
Just one day after a brutal summit comes another proper mountain test – this is the Vuelta! Stage 7 goes up and down from Gandía as a tourist destination on the Mediterranean to the Balcón de Alicante above the very popular holiday destination.
152 km in total, the stage doesn’t feature too much of the Med, but instead the mountain inland. The first climb appears after 7 km. The Puerto la Llacuna adds up to 9.4 km and comes with an average gradient of 6.2%, although that statistic is wildly misleading. The first 4 km climb at an average of over 8% and feature a section at 17%.
After the descent the riders navigate more undulating terrain for a while. Effectually the route goes up until they reach the foot of the Puerto de Benilloba, which is a 3 km climb at 3.5%.
The end of the downhill coincides with the base of the next climb. The Puerto de Tudons is an ascent of 7.1 km with an average gradient of 5.2% – quite steady, as the steepest ramp goes up at 7.5%.
The riders drop down a long descent to enter a false flat that continues onto the Puerto El Collao. The 9.5 km climb at 4.6% levels out a bit in the midway section, only to resume with 1 km at 9.7%.
Still 39 km to go at the top. A rolling descent of more than 15 km takes the riders to Xixona – famous for its turrón, or nougat -, which lies at the foot of the Puerto de Tibi. The 5.3 km climb at 5.3% rises at almost 10% in the middle section before mellowing out in the last 2 km.
The Tibi climb is merely an appetizer for the finish climb. After a short descent and a short false flat the ascent to the Balcón de Alicante begins. The 8.4 km climb averages 6.2%, while the second half is particularly brutal with an average gradient of almost 10%. The last few metres go downhill but it’s still a difficult stage.
Stage 7 is effectively a hilly Spanish classic close to the sea. The final climb is very similar to the Arrate Sanctuary which opened a reduced 2020 Vuelta last year. Roglič was the stage winner with a late attack, Richard Carapaz came second and Dan Martin in third.
One man who should be in contention to win a stage at this Vuelta is Bahrain-Victorious’sGino Mäder. The Swiss climber secured a career first grand tour stage win at the Giro back in May.
Saturday 21st August: Stage 8 Santa Pola – La Manga de Mar Menor (Flat)
At 173.7 km, the 8th stage is mainly played out on the Costa Cálida or, the ‘hot coast’, east of Murcia. The route between Santa Pola and La Manga del Mar Menor is predominantly flat.
The Vuelta has never before visited Santa Pola, a beach resort on Spain’s southern Costa Blanca. The riders head south along the Mediterranean coast to move through Torrevieja after 23 km where the waters of the Med remain on their left until they reach Cartagena after 94 km.
The inland spin in the last 70 km features a number of small climbs, but presumably not enough to thwart a bunch sprint form happening.
It’s been 41 years since La Vuelta last visited La Manga del Mar Menor. In 1980, the town hosted the Big Start and Roberto Visentini won the ITT on the first day of action. In 1977, Freddy Maertens won his second of a total of thirteen stages that year, while he also took the overall. More recently, in 2018, Nacer Bouhanni outsprinted Danny van Poppel and Elia Viviani in nearby San Javier.
If Fabio Jakobsen already has a handful of stages by this first weekend, then expect him to be the dominant sprinter at this Vuelta.
Sunday 22nd August: Stage 9 Puerto Lumbreras – Alto de Velefique (Summit Finish)
The final action of week one concludes with Stage 9 atop the Alto de Velefique. 188 km overall, a finish climb 13.2 km long with an average gradient at 7.3% – this is another classic Vuelta stage.
The first part of the day isn’t too exciting. On rolling roads, the riders travel in a south-westerly direction until the first proper obstacle appears. The long Alto de Cuatro Vientos marks the start of the mountainous second part of the race.
The climb – 11.5 km at 3.8% – is crested at km 74.5. The real descent begins 5 kilometres later and continues onto an extended false flat. Then the riders enter the Alto Collado Venta Luisa, which is a climb of 29 km long with an average gradient of 4.6%. The hardest part begins after 16 kilometres when the Venta Luisa climbs at double digit gradients for 4 km.
Shortly after the downhill the Alto de Castro de Fiabres appears. This is a relatively easy test of 7.1 km at 3.9%.
The route saves the best for last. The Alto de Velefique climb opens with 5 km at 9% before the gradient levels out to roughly 6%. The ascent adds up to 13.4 km, while the average gradient from base to top sits at 7.3%.
Situated at the base of the finish climb, Velefique is a former mining town in the Sierra de Filabres. In 2009, the summit with the same name was the end station of a stage with over 6,000 m of vertical climbing. The now retired Ryder Hesjedal powered to the win.
A GC clash is expected on the Velefique and one man who took Stage 9 on his way to Giro glory was Egan Bernal. Could the Colombian make his mark here to try and win a Giro-Vuelta double?
