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2016 Vuelta a España route revealed

Though stage and route details have been leaked for weeks, the 2016 Vuelta a España course was officially revealed in Santiago de Compostela on Saturday.

January 9, 2016
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Though stage and route details have been leaked for weeks, the 2016 Vuelta a España course was officially revealed in Santiago de Compostela on Saturday. As expected, the race from August 20 to September 11 features 10 summit finishes, one more than in 2015, and two time trials. The parcours is mostly in the northern part of the country.

Galicia sees the start of the Vuelta, with five stages set there including the 29.1-km opening team time trial in Ourense and Cat. 3 and Cat. 2 summit finishes on Stages 3 and 4 respectively. Stage 3’s concluding climb Mirador de Ézaro is a fearsome 2-km of 13% which pitches up to 29%.

After a few bumpy stages across the northern meseta into Asturias and Cantabria, the summit finishes continue on Stages 8-10, with the final day before Rest Day One finishing atop the nasty Especial-category Lagos de Covadonga, last used in 2014 when Przemysław Niemiec (Poland/Lampre) won the day.

The climbing is rejoined immediately after the September 30 rest day, with a flat course leading to the Cat. 1 Peña Cabarga summit finish. Three days later in the Pyrenees, Stage 14 might be the queen stage of the 2016 Vuelta: four big climbs over 195.6-km with an exhausting conclusion on the Especial Aubisque in France. The next day the peloton finishes on the Formigal.

The final week starts with a summit finish on the very steep Alto Mas de la Costa. Stage 19 on September 9 is a decisive 39-km time trial, one that’s mostly flat but with a couple of ripples. The penultimate stage throws a few Cat. 2 and 3 ascents at the riders before the final Especial battleground of the Alto de Aitano, 22.3-km of climbing.

The race’s final big descent leading to the Aitano came with a warning.

Of the GC Big Dogs, so far only Colombians Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and 2015 two-stage winner Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) and perennial favourite Joaquim Rodriguez have committed to the Vuelta. But Giro d’Italia targeters Tom Dumoulin (The Netherlands/Giant-Alpecin), Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Astana) and Mikel Landa (Spain/Sky) might contest the Spanish Grand Tour.