Vuelta a España 2026 – 22 August to 13 September: Monaco – Granada (3,275 km, 58,156 hm)

The 81st edition of the Vuelta a España begins on 22 August with an individual time trial in Monaco and ends three weeks later, on 13 September, in Granada. The route is 3,308 kilometres long and features 55,233 metres of climbing, spread over 21 stages with two time trials, six summit finishes and two rest days. The first three stages take place outside Spain: after the prologue-like time trial in Monaco come a hilly stage to Manosque and a medium-mountain stage to Font Romeu, both on French soil, before the caravan finally reaches Spain via Andorra la Vella.

Where the Vuelta has often featured tough mountain work early in the route in recent years, that is again the case this time: as early as the first week come summit finishes in Andorra la Vella and at Aramón Valdelinares, followed by the long climb to Alto de Aitana. The second week adds Calar Alto and Sierra de la Pandera, and the third week features the summit finish at Peñas Blancas and the queen stage to Collado del Alguacil in the Sierra Nevada, two days before the finish in Granada. With two flat time trials (9 and 32.5 kilometres), the share of time-trial kilometres remains limited, which makes the route especially attractive for climbers.

Recent winners and records

Roglič, with four overall victories (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024), shares the Vuelta record with Roberto Heras. Tadej Pogačar is not on this list: the Vuelta is the only grand tour still missing from his palmarès. If he wins in Granada, he will add that victory to his 2024 Giro win and his five Tour wins (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026), becoming the ninth rider in history to win all three grand tours, after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and Jonas Vingegaard, who completed that feat this year with his Giro win.

Candidates

Pogačar starts as the absolute top favourite. In 2026 he was untouchable in both the Tour and the Giro, has been ranked number one in the UCI ranking for five years running, and last lost a stage race in 2023. There is therefore no real open battle for the overall win: the question in Spain is not so much who can beat Pogačar, but who can stay closest to him.

For the podium behind Pogačar, a few names return. Primož Roglič, four-time winner and top favourite whenever Pogačar was absent, knows the route and the short, hard climbs like no other. Enric Mas has already finished second three times on home soil and is the regular climber for the top places. Felix Gall, second in this year's Giro, must prove that form also holds up in a third grand tour of the season. Oscar Onley, in his first season at Netcompany-Ineos, has already climbed with the best climbers' group this year and is among the riders who could be the first to benefit if time can be gained on the favourites in the final week. Other interesting names from GC-perspective are Almeida, Skjelmose, Johannessen and Carapaz.

Week 1: France, Andorra and the first summit finishes

The Vuelta opens with a short 9-kilometre time trial through the streets of Monaco, followed by a hilly stage to Manosque and a medium-mountain stage to Font Romeu, both still on French soil. Stage 4, at 104.9 kilometres, is the shortest stage of this Vuelta, but also immediately one of the hardest: four climbs and a summit finish in Andorra la Vella. After a transitional stage to Roquetes and a medium-mountain stage to Castellón, the first genuine summit finish comes on day seven, at Aramón Valdelinares. A flat stage to Xeraco offers the sprinters a chance, before the first week concludes with the tough summit finish at Alto de Aitana, worth more than 5,000 metres of climbing in a single day.

Week 2: Almería and Andalusia

After the rest day, the Vuelta resumes with a hilly stage to Elche de la Sierra and a flat stage to Lorca. Stage 12 climbs to Calar Alto, the highest finish of this Vuelta and therefore a day when time gaps between the favourites are expected. A medium-mountain stage to Loja precedes the summit finish at Sierra de la Pandera, a short but steep climb that has often proved decisive in previous editions. The second week ends with a medium-mountain stage to Córdoba, before the second and final rest day.

Week 3: Seville, the Jerez time trial and the Sierra Nevada

The final week begins with two flat stages, to Palos de la Frontera and Seville, followed by the second time trial of this Vuelta: 32.5 kilometres between El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera, the only place in the route where GC riders with a strong time trial can make up time. Stage 19 finishes uphill at Peñas Blancas, after which stage 20, with its finish at Collado del Alguacil in the Sierra Nevada, is considered the queen stage of this Vuelta: the riders climb the Puerto de El Purche twice before the finish at just over 1,880 metres altitude at Collado del Alguacil. The final stage to Granada, at 112 kilometres, is short and features the Alhambra climb four times, making it a spectecular final stage of this Vuelta.

The route of this Vuelta contains few time-trial kilometres and many short, steep climbs, spread across all three weeks. That profile suits climbers with an explosive kick, the type in which Pogačar has excelled for years. For riders like Roglič and Mas, who are especially strong on long, steady climbs, the Jerez time trial offers the main opportunity to gain time, while the many short summit finishes in the first two weeks can provide early clarity on the balance of power.

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