Even by Vuelta standards, next year’s race will be brutal.
Cor Vos
Not to be outdone by a Tour de France that will take on near 55,000 meters of elevation gain, Vuelta a España organizers unveiled a 2026 route on Wednesday that will tackle a whopping 58,000 meters of climbing. The challenges on tap will make for a Vuelta among the hardest in recent memory, rivaling the brutal 2024 edition, which boasted roughly 60,000 meters of vertical.
Perhaps just as pleasing to any of mountain goats of the peloton watching the route presentation, the race will only feature about 41 km of time trialing across two stages: a short opening TT in Monaco and a longer stage 18 TT. Both are flat, but a bevy of arduous ascents in eastern and southern Spain will ensure that only the true climbers have any chance at securing the red jersey when the race ends, for the first time, in Granada.
As if the climbing challenges weren’t enough, the GC hopefuls will also have to be comfortable with riding in the heat as the 2026 Vuelta will spend more than a week in Andalusia, the southernmost region of mainland Spain and one of the hottest places in Europe.
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