Vuelta a España preview and stage overview
- Yasmin Vingtoft
- 20. aug.
- 6 min læsning
Opdateret: 21. aug.
The time has come for the final Grand Tour of the year: La Vuelta a España. Last year, the race was won by pre-race favourite Primož Roglič. This time, the spotlight is on two-time Tour de France champion and recent runner-up Jonas Vingegaard, who will take on his third Vuelta in pursuit of his first win in the Spanish Grand Tour, having previously helped teammates Primož Roglič and Sepp Kuss to overall victories in 2020 and 2023.
This preview includes:
The Route
The riders make the race, but the route is the foundation for the upcoming fights. So, let’s take a closer look.⬇️
Week 1
Week 1 kicks off with a Grand Départ in Italy 🇮🇹, where the first three stages will take place. The opening stage is flat, favoring the fastest sprinters in the peloton as the stage will likely end in a bunch sprint.
Stage 2 starts where the first left off, with mostly flat terrain, until the finale, where the riders will face a 7.6 km Category 2 climb averaging 5.4%. This finish will be tough for the heavier riders and could open the door for a late attack or a successful breakaway if not the peloton comes together for a reduced sprint, that will favor the versatile yet speedy riders.
The 3rd stage is bumpy and brings a bunch of challenges along the way making it another opportunity for a breakaway or versatile fast riders
On the 4th stage, the riders leave Italy and head into France. The stage starts off hard, with multiple categorized climbs where a strong break can form. The second half is easier, with no categorized climbs, but it is not completely flat either. In this part, we could possibly see some teams with fast riders trying to catch the break to go for the win.
The 5th stage will be the first to take place in Spain, and it is no ordinary day as it is a team time trial where teams will showcase their strength and battle not only for the stage win but also crucial time in the GC.
Then comes the 6th stage which is the first real mountain test. The stage starts uphill so a strong breakaway could form, then comes two more categorised climbs before the summit finish at a 9,7 km category 1 climb averaging 6,4%. The stage offers a chance for GC action yet this is not the hardest stage nor the most challenging finale climb so the GC likely will not be decided here.
Stage 7 is another mountain day, featuring an early climb that gives a strong breakaway a great chance to form. Like Stage 6, two more categorized climbs await before a summit finish at a Category 1 climb that is 12.1 km with an average gradient of 5.9%.
The 8th stage has no categorised climbs, and is a well deserved treat for the sprinters in between many hard stages.
The 9th and final stage of Week 1 is bumpy, finishing with a Category 1 climb that’s 13.1 km long at 5.1%. It’s a day where strong climbing legs will be needed to take the win.
So by the end of Week 1, there will have been opportunities for sprinters, versatile fast finishers, and climbers. But the toughest mountain challenges are still ahead.
Mads Pedersen, Jonas Vingegaard, and Søren Kragh Andersen are among the Danish stars lining up for La Vuelta. Jonas will be targeting the overall victory, while Pedersen goes for stage wins and a run at the points jersey, supported by the newly crowned Danish champion, Søren Kragh Andersen.
Week 2
Week 2 kicks off with a medium mountain stage with a summit finish at the category 1 climb el ferial larra belagua which is 9,4 km long with an avergage gradient of 6,3% which therefore favous riders with strong climbing legs - especially if they also have a strong finish if it comes down to a sprint in a reduced group
Stage 11 is another medium mountain stage but it is very diffrent to the day prior. It does not have a summit finish or any climbs ranked higher than Category 2, but it holds 7 categorised climbs of category 2 and 3 making the foundation for a interesting and punchy stage
Stage 12 is once again a medium mountain stage with no summit finish it has a category 2 climb after about 30 km where a strong breakaway could form. Then comes a long valley before a category 1 climb topping with about 25 km to go where the climbers can try to get rid of the faster finishers.
Stage 13 is a true mountain test. The first part may be relatively flat, but the final 60 km holds three major challenges: two Category 1 climbs and then the brutal L’Angliru (12.3 km at 10.1%). Expect fireworks among the GC contenders.
Stage 14 is another mountain test, it is quite short at just 135 km but it takes the riders over 3,805 metres of climbing. It all culminates in a summit finish at Alto de la Farrapona (7 km @ 8.5%). Here GC riders can show their strength, and we might even see two races in one if a breakaway goes clear.
The final stage of week 2 starts with a Category 1 climb, followed by some bumpy terrain where we could once again see a strong breakaway with a great chance to fight for the win form. The second part of the stage is easier, so if any teams with a fast finisher still have firepower left, they could possibly catch the breakaway, although it will be difficult.
Week 3
The final week of the Vuelta begins with a bumpy stage featuring four categorized climbs giving a breakaway a great to shine.
Then comes stage 17 which starts with a gentle uphill before taking the riders over a category 3 climb mid-way. The day then builds towards a decisive summit finish on the category 1 climb to Peñalba de Santiago, where the GC riders will once again be tested.
Then on stage 18 comes the one and only individual time trial of the 2025 edition of La Vuelta. It is 27,2 km long and flat offering a great chance to Time trial specialists like Filippo Ganna who will be fighting for the stage win while the GC-guys will be fighting to keep their place in the GC or advance to a better position and who knows maybe they will also be in the mix for the stage win being this late into the Grand Tour
Stage 19 is unlikely to bring major changes in the GC, as the route is flat and favors the sprinters. However, being so late in the Grand Tour, fatigue may take its toll on the sprinters’ teams and if they struggle to control the race, the breakaway could have a chance to fight for the stage win.
Stage 20 the sprinters definently do not have a chance as it is a true mountain showdown with 4,226 meters of elevation packed into 165.5 km. After a couple of category 3 climbs and rolling terrain, the riders face a category 1 climb before the final showdown on the Puerto de Navacerrada (12.3 km at 8.6%.) This is the last big chance for GC action whether it is for the win, the podium or a top 10 spot.
Stage 21 brings the traditional finale in Madrid, where the sprinters will have one last shot at glory on the flat finishing circuits. But it is not always straightforward for the sprinters. In 2023, a strong group including Kaden Groves and Remco Evenepoel spiced things up as they broke away from the peloton and where not caught untill the very finale metres, ending with Groves taking the win! So if a strong breakaway gets away it could be a very fast and thrilling end to La Vuelta 2025.
Visual overviews
Stage overview
Below you will see a overview of all the stages at this years Vuelta a Espana
Each stage comes with a short description of what awaits as well as a watch score based on how exciting I think the stage could be 😊 Of course, anything can happen, weather, tactics, and race dynamics can play a huge role. Even an on paper boring stage can surprise while the on paper exciting stages can disappoint. As always: the riders make the race! 🚴♂️
Download the stage overview:
Timetable overview
I have also made an overview of the expected start and finish times for each stage, including the estimated time the riders will pass the 50 km mark. All times are shown in local time (CEST) and are based on the fastest estimates from the official Vuelta Espana timetable. Riders could go slower or who know maybe even faster! also note that the listed start times refer to the official race start, not the neutral roll-out, which begins a bit earlier.
The 📺 icon represent the stages with Flag-to-Flag coverage 🏁
Download the time table overview:
Downloadable iCalendar
I have also put together an iCalendar with all 21 stages of La Vuelta. Each stage comes with a short description of what to expect, plus details on the stage type, start and finish towns, estimated start and finish times, and the watch score.
Add it to your calendar app and stay up to date throughout the race 😊
Download:
Google calendars:
Others:
If you reahced this point, thank you for reading along and enjoy the finale Grand Tour of the year! 🇪🇸
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