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Not only will the 2020 Vuelta a España not start in the Netherlands, it will also bypass Portugal

Stages 15 and 16 to be rerouted

The UCI’s announcement last week of revised racing calendars for the men’s and women’s WorldTours means that race organizers have to once more coordinate road closures and other competition infrastructure according to the new dates. On Saturday, the 2020 Vuelta a España, already having cancelled the opening three stages in the Netherlands, said that its excursion into Portugal has abandoned “due to the impossibility of guaranteeing optimal conditions for the development of the (COVID-19) test in the territory.”

Originally, stage 15 was supposed to run between Porto and Matosinhos, and stage 16 was scheduled to depart from Viseu. These stages will be rerouted.

Javier Guillén, CEO of La Vuelta, said, “In a situation as exceptional as the one we live in, we have to be flexible and be open and prepared to make these kinds of decisions and changes. It is a shame not to be able to visit Portugal in 2020, but we do not want that flame to go out: we will keep alive the relationships and ties that we have been weaving and we will feed them in the future so that we can return to this country that has treated us so well.”

The Vuelta is scheduled to take place from October 20 to November 8, starting in the Basque country. On October 25, the stage in which the riders assail the Portalet, the Aubisque and the summit finish of Tourmalet over 136 km clashes with the men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix and the finale of the Giro d’Italia.