Unipublic unveiled the route of the 2021 Vuelta a España, which will take place from August 14 to September 5. The first eight kilometers, out of the total 3336.1 kilometers that make up the the 76th edition of La Vuelta will be an individual time trial within the city of Burgos.
The route will revolve around its cathedral, the locality’s most emblematic monument, which celebrates the 8th centenary of its construction in 2021. The two following stages will be held within the Province of Burgos, with a finale in the district of La Gamonal and another at Picón Blanco, the first unprecedented high-altitude finale of this year’s race.
The peloton will travel towards the peninsula’s East, with stops in the provinces of Soria, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Albacete, Valenciaand Alicante – The latter leading to the discovery of a new climb: the Balcón de Alicante. Heading further South, La Vuelta will hold a finish-line in the Region of Murcia, marking the end of the first week of competing at the renowned Alto de Velefique, in Almería.
Following the first rest day, the race will resume at Roquetas de Mar and will slowly travel through the Andalusian territory. The provinces of Málaga, Jaén and Córdoba will watch the peloton ride past before returning to Extremadura for the first time since 2013.
The provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres will host two departures and two finish-lines in 2021. Pico Villuercas is an extremely tough unprecedented climb that stands out for its spectacular nature. Just before the next rest day, Avila will mark the end of the second week with a finish-line at the historic town of El Barraco, the birthplace of some of the best Spanish cyclists in history.
The riders will recover their strength before the final stretch of the race that promises to thrill spectators. Cantabria will hold a stage entirely within the autonomous community, before giving way to the Lagos de Covadonga climb. The Principality of Asturias seeks to become the judge of this year’s Spanish Grand Tour, by linking the mythical climb with a stage that will face a brand-new mountain pass expected to go down in history: the Altu d’El Gamoniteiru. Galicia will resume the race with a finish-line in Monforte de Lemos and a stage held entirely within the Province of Pontevedra that will delight Classics specialists.
A Coruña, not Madrid, will be the province chosen to host the final stage of the race. Taking into account the Jacobean year, and the fact that the 2021 edition is “La Vuelta de las Catedrales”, the organization has prepared a final time trial with a finale in Santiago de Compostela and a departure from Padrón. This will ring a bell with 90s cycling fans as a very similar stage took place in the 1993 race, which was the deciding factor behind Tony Rominger’s victory.
A VUELTA ENTIRELY WITHIN SPAIN
“The world is going through a very tough time right now, and this is being particularly felt in our country. For this reason, we wished to design a different kind of race. It is an ambitious Vuelta, that will cover many kilometers, but will stay only within Spain. We want to showcase our country: its beauty and its potential as a tourism world leader. We will be present in many territories, with a huge variety of terrains and unprecedented locations, while also visiting some of the country’s largest tourist centres. This is our way of entertaining people and of promoting tourism as we await a gradual return to normality”, expressed Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta.
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