Vuelta a Espana Joins the Peloton
Many cycling enthusiasts are feeling the post Tour blues following the excitement of the Tour de France. Not to worry as the Vuelta a Espana is exactly what the doc ordered to cure the cycling blues.
The Vuelta a Espana has been a staple of cycle racing since 1935 and forms part of the cycling’s three Grand Tour races. The others being the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia. The race will start on Saturday the 23rd of August. Therefore let us have a closer look at the route and contendors to keep an eye on next week.
Route of the Vuelta a Espana
The Vuelta a Espana covers a route of 3151km over 21 stages. The race is legendary due to the mountain climbs that are much tougher than any of the other big races. The race starts in Turin in Italy where it makes its way down through France and Andorra in two stages. The riders will start Stage 3 in Spain where the rest of the race will take place. The route winds its way through Spain where it leads to final stage flat stage that goes into the capital Madrid.
The Vuelta race also features some breathtaking landscapes taking riders through areas and cities such as Barcelona, Bilbao and Basque Country, Andalusia (Grenada and Seville), Pyrenees and Galicia.
The 21 stages can be broken down into different types. Riders get two rest days in between which falls on the 1st and 8th of September.
- There are four flat stages.
- One flat with hill finale.
- Three hill stages that finish uphill.
- Six medium mountain stages.
- Five high mountain stages.
- One time trial stage.
- One individual time stage.
The Vuelta a Espana has some climbs that are steep enough to make the fittest rider reconsider. The Alto de l’Angliru is one of the toughest climbs in racing with a gradient at some places of 23% thus making it a beast of a climb. The climb is over 12km with 1266 meter elevation gain. Lagos de Covadonga is another well known Asturian climb that stretches over 12km. The climb has an average gradient of 7% but has some very steep sections. Bola del Mundo is a12km climb with an average gradient of 8.6% which has riders do over a 1000 meters in elevation gain.
Vuelta’s Jersey System
The colour of the jersey given at the end of each stage represents how they fared in the stage. The overall leader in the general classification is the Red Jersey. The Green Jersey is on points classification for sprinters. The best climber or king of the mountains gets the Polka Dot jersey. The White jersey is for the best young rider under the age of 25.
Top Contenders for this Race
This year’s Tour de France was won by none other than Tadej Pogačar, who won the title for the fourth time. The Slovenian will not be participating in this year’s race, citing a need of rest after the Tour de France. There are few other top riders that have opted out of this year’s Vuelta a Espana. Current title Primoz Roglic will not be participating this year. Richard Carapaz will skip this year due to illness ad wanting to focus on the World Championship. Remco Evenepoel won the Vuelta in 2022 is also not expected to compete. He abandoned the Tour de France a few weeks ago due to a broken rib.
The absence of these riders leaves the door wide open for others to win the La Vuelta 2025. One rider that particularly comes to mind is Jonas Vinegaard, who came second in the Tour earlier this year and has a strong support system from Sepp Kuss and Matteo. Joao Almieda and Juan Ayuso are other riders that will make a sprint for the Red jersey. Riders such as Matteo Jorgenson and Tom Pidcock are great underdog picks and their odds are well worth having a look at our preferred betting partners.
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For other great sports events still to come have a look at our August 2025 Sport Preview which includes the Womens Rugby World Cup and the US Tennis Open.
