cycling: Vuelta a Espana 2016: stages and route in detail

Cycling: The Vuelta a Espana 20 starts on August 2016th - last year the Tour of Spain was by far the most exciting tour with a gripping finale in which Fabio Aru (Astana) was able to snatch the overall victory from Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) again . A look at the course this year shows: We can expect three weeks of thrilling cycling and hopefully an equally close final in 2016.

Vuelta a Espana 2016: The route at a glance - 10 mountain finishes = tour for climbers?

For several years now, the Vuelta a Espana has not only been popular among fans, but above all among the drivers for the climbers' tour. In 2013, the route included a total of eleven mountain climbs – a record at the time. In the last two years it was a little less with 9 or 8 mountain finishes, but in view of the almost complete lack of flat stages it is not surprising that the sprint specialists usually do not even start in Spain - that is all the more true this year , as the Road World Championships in Doha in October will be held on an almost completely flat track and the title contenders will therefore opt for a different preparation.

Also at the Vuelta a Espana 2016 there is no stinginess with mountain finishes: the organizers from Unipublic distributed a total of ten over the three weeks, but this year an effort was obviously made to ensure a little more balance. The two time trials in particular – the team time trial at the start and the individual time trial in the last week – play a decisive role. While in the past these were often tailored to the strengths of climbers, this year they are almost completely flat and a case for time trial specialists. At 30km (MZF) and 40km (EZF), they are also longer than in previous years and should cause significant shifts in the classification.

Also missing this year is such a murderous stage as last year in Andorra. Nevertheless, the mountain climbs, some of which are extremely difficult, will certainly put one or the other rider to the test - gradients of 20% or more are really not uncommon here. Typical of the Vuelta is its multifaceted nature over all three weeks: While the Giro and Tour usually include a few flat stages in the first week, things get straight to the point in Spain - even if the really big chunks were at the end. If you don't have good form at the beginning, you will have to make up for the overall ranking.

As in previous years, the Vuelta a Espana 2016 should be guaranteed excitement right to the end: The last two stages before the final stretch to Madrid are tough: Not only the 39km long individual time trial awaits here, but also the extremely difficult mountain finish at the Alto de Aitana (highest category). Here everything can change again in the final meters of the tour in the overall ranking.

Vuelta a Espana 2016: An overview of the individual stages

Stage #1, Balneario Laias – Castrelo de Mino

Stage #2, Ourense – Baiona

Stage #3, Marín – Mirador Ézaro

Stage #4, Betanzos – San André de Teixidó

Stage #5, Viveiro – Lugo

Stage #6, Monforte de Lemos – Luintra

Stage #7, Maceda – Puebla de Sanabria

Stage #8, Villalpando – La Camperona

Stage #9, Cistierna – Alto de Naranco

Stage #10, Lugones – Lagos de Covadonga

Stage #11, Colunga – Pena Cabarga

Stage #12, Los Corrales de Buelna – Bilbao

Stage #13, Bilbao – Urdax

Stage #14, Urdax - Aubisque

Stage #15, Sabiñanigo – Formigal

Stage #16, Alcañiz – Peniscola

Stage #17, Castellón – Mas de la Costa

Stage #18, Requena – Gandia

Stage #19, Xàbia – Calpe (Individual Time Trial)

Stage #20, Benidorm – Alto de Aitana

Stage #21, Las Rozas – Madrid