Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, together with teammate Primož Roglič, wants to keep last year’s winner and time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel in check at the Vuelta a España, which starts on Saturday (26.08.23). The most important information and answers about the three-week-long third Grand Tour of the year.
Start in Barcelona
The “La Vuelta Ciclista a España”, short “Vuelta” or “Vuelta a España” is the third major cycling tour of the year. After the Giro d’Italia in May and the Tour de France in July, the Tour of Spain is held in late autumn. The start is on August 26th in Barcelona and the finish will be reached in Madrid on September 17th after 3156.5 kilometers of racing. Sections are also driven in the neighboring countries of Andorra and France.
21 stages, two rest days
The tour consists of 21 stages with two rest days. However, the riders are only allowed a day’s rest after the ninth stage of the day on September 4th, with the second break following a week later, right in the middle of the four toughest stages of this year’s Vuelta. During these four stages, you will climb, among other things, the Col du Tourmalet (13th stage), famous from the Tour de France. The penultimate stage will certainly also be interesting when no fewer than ten climbs in the third category await the riders.
22 teams, 176 starters
The 18 teams of the UCI World Tour are eligible to start. Four ProTeams are invited, each sending eight drivers into the race. The best-known starters from Germany are Emanuel Buchmann and Lennard Kämna from Bora-hansgrohe. They are supported by Nico Denz, Jonas Koch and Ben Zwiehof. From a German point of view – not all nominations for the teams are fixed yet – there are also Jasha Sütterlin (Bahrain-Victorious), Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers), Felix Engelhardt (Jayco Alula), Maurice Ballerstedt and Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Who are the favorites of the Vuelta?
The German starters, above all Kämna, should concentrate on their helper services again – and occasionally speculate on daily successes.
The favorites are three superstars of the scene: Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard will drive to overall victory as part of the double lead with teammate and Giro winner Primož Roglič at Jumbo-Visma. “We go into the race as the captains”, the Dane told the Spanish sports newspaper “Marca”. Roglič had won the Tour of Spain from 2019 to 2021, last year the Slovenian fell and retired in second place.
Primoz Roglic (right) and Jonas Vingegaard at the 2022 Dauphiné Tour
Pogačar is resting
In 2022, Remco Evenepoel made the triumph perfect. The professional from Soudal-Quick Step was just proving his outstanding condition when he won gold in the individual time trial at the World Cycling Championships in Scotland. Tadej Pogačar, runner-up on the Tour and bronze medalist in the road race in Scotland, needs a break and will not be racing in Barcelona. Thus, Pogačar’s team UAE will start with youngsters João Almeida and Juan Ayoso at the top.
Few sprinters, many climbs
When it comes to sprinters, the big names are missing from the Vuelta. The Belgian Gerben Thijssen is the most promising candidate for the green jersey of the sprint best in view of his 2023 results.
The fact that there are so few top sprinters at the Vuelta could have something to do with the high number of mountain finishes. Nine stages end with a final climb, a tenth has a steep climb up to Xorret de Catí in the final phase, before a short descent leads to the finish.
How does the sports show report?
Sportschau.de is present at all stages in the live ticker and is currently reporting on the last Grand Tour of the year. There are all important ratings in the result area.
| stage/date | length | Start and finish location |
|---|---|---|
Stage 1 – 08/26/2023 | 14.8km | Barcelona-Barcelona |
Stage 2 – 08/27/2023 | 181.8 km | Mataro-Barcelona |
Stage 3 – 08/28/2023 | 158.5km | Suria-Arinsal (mountain arrival) |
Stage 4 – 08/29/2023 | 184.6 km | Andorra la Vella – Tarragona |
Stage 5 – 08/30/2023 | 186.2 km | Morella-Burriana |
Stage 6 – 08/31/2023 | 183.1 km | La Vall d’Uixó – Observatory Astrofísico de Javalambre (mountain arrival) |
Stage 7 – 09/01/2023 | 200.8km | Utiel-Olivia |
Stage 8 – 09/02/2023 | 165 km | Dénia – Xorret de Catí. Costa Blanca Interior |
Stage 9 – 09/03/2023 | 184.5km | Cartagena – Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca (mountain arrival) |
Closing day – 04.09.2023 | ||
Stage 10 – 09/05/2023 | 25.8km | Valladolid – Valladolid |
Stage 11 – 09/06/2023 | 163.2 km | Lerma – La Laguna Negra.Vinuesa (mountain arrival) |
Stage 12 – 09/07/2023 | 150.6 km | Olvega – Zaragoza |
Stage 13 – 09/08/2023 | 134.7 km | Formigal. Huesca la Magia – Col du Tourmalet (mountain arrival) |
Stage 14 – 09/09/2023 | 156.2 km | Sauveterre-de-Béarn – Larra-Belagua (mountain arrival) |
Stage 15 – 09/10/2023 | 158.3km | Pamplona-Lekunberri |
Closing day – 09/11/2023 | ||
Stage 16 – 09/12/2023 | 120.1 km | Liencres Playa – Bejes (mountain arrival) |
Stage 17 – 09/13/2023 | 124.4 km | Ribadesella/Ribeseya – Altu de L’Angliru (mountain arrival) |
Stage 18 – 09/14/2023 | 178.9 km | Pola de Allande – La Cruz de Linares (mountain arrival) |
Stage 19 – 09/15/2023 | 177.1 km | La Bañeza – Íscar |
Stage 20 – 09/16/2023 | 207.8km | Manzanares El Real – Guadarrama |
Stage 21 – 09/17/2023 | 101.5 km | Hipódromo de la Zarzuela – Madrid. Paisaje de la Luz |