Vuelta a España 2026 route

Probably the most unusual feature of the 2026 Vuelta route is the last stage, which will be held outside the Spanish capital of Madrid for the first time since 2021, ending for the first time in the city of Granada.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The Vuelta’s starting point, an opening time trial through the streets of Monaco, is even more unusual for a race which specialises in surprises, although fans with long memories will recall a very similar stage 1 individual TT in Monaco in the 2009 Tour de France, captured by Fabian Cancellara ahead of the eventual overall winner, Alberto Contador.

At 9.1 kilometres, the 2026 Vuelta time trial is six kilometres shorter than the 2009 Tour’s equivalent. But then, as now, the combination of a very technical course and short, punchy climbs, many of them part of Monaco’s famous Formula 1 circuit, could catch out the unwary amongst the GC challengers all the same.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The rolling terrain between Monaco and Manosque in the South of France will cater to the breakaway artists will have only a slim chance to hold off the sprinters with a small climb in the closing kilometres and an uphill drag to the line.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Heading back towards Spain, the Vuelta’s two days in the Pyrenees that follow almost immediately afterwards have very different formats, but they’ll both serve to remove some major names from the GC equation.

Stage 3 up the little-known Col de Mont-Louis, and then onto the category 2 climb of Font de San-Romeu comprises a grinding ascent from the Mediterranean coast to nearly 2,000 metres above sea level.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 4 is a much shorter non-stop run of category 1 climbs through Andorra, all of them familiar to the many riders resident in the tax-friendly mountain mini-state. At just 104 kilometres, it will be a risky day for the GC contenders who will have to be attentive to attacks early in the stage and on the short but sharp final category 3 climb in the last four kilometres.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 5’s windswept run through the delta of the River Ebro finally sees the Vuelta on Spanish soil. With one small climb outside the final 20km, it should be a day for the sprinters.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 6 could be ambush territory, with the category 1 Puerto El Bartolo featuring a 3.5km stretch of gravel before the summit and cresting 19km before the flat finish.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The ascent to Aramon Valdelinares in the remote region of Teruel on stage 7 could provide a few GC surprises, coming at the end of a 149-kilometre journey from 200m above sea level to 1,951 metres.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 8 offers the climbers some respite, with just one category 2 mountain in the 176.4-kilometre stage. Any sprinter wanting to go for the stage win will have to survive the Puerto de Barx with 22.2km to go.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The 5,000 metres of vertical climbing to Aitana on stage 9, deep in the sierras of Alicante, will almost certainly act as the Vuelta’s first set piece major mountain battle – and simultaneously bring down the curtain on an unusually hard first week.

By the time the Vuelta reaches Aitana, another big factor will surely have made an impact, too: the heat. Temperatures in southern Spain in late August and early September regularly reach the low 40s for days on end, and the accumulated toll on riders next summer as the Vuelta takes on one major mountain challenge after another will likely have an important effect on the racing.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 10 gives the peloton a break after the first rest day with some undulating roads and only three category 3 climbs in the 184km stage. The heat and distance will be a bigger challenge than the terrain.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 11 is almost the same as stage 8, with a single climb with 33.5km to go the only chance to dislodge the pure sprinters. The route plateaus after the summit giving dropped riders a chance to fight back on and contest the stage.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Stage 12 is the next big summit finish of Calar Alto, a climb last tackled in the 2021 Vuelta where Primoz Roglič took another big step towards overall victory, runs through the semi-deserts of eastern Andalucia. It’s an area so bleak and dry it was used for the filming of the 1970s Clint Eastwood ‘Spaghetti Westerns’.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

There’s enough elevation gain early in the 193-kilometre stage 13 to suggest the fast men might be joining the autobus, giving the punchier sprinters a chance to fight for the stage win. The last classified climb is a distant 38km from the line.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

Although not so famous to cinema buffs, the other big second week mountain top challenge of the Sierra de la Pandera on stage 14 will likely witness yet more blisteringly hot weather and a brutal run up to 1,800 metres in altitude.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

This hilly stage ends with flat roads and possibly a bunch sprint, but the tickets for the autobus will be collected on the two category 3 ascents in the second half of the 181.2km stage.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

A hilly day ends with flat roads for the sprinters to have a chance for the win.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

If the previous two stages weren’t flat enough, the pure sprinters will hardly have to deal with a highway overpass en route to Sevilla.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The 32.5 kilometre individual time trial begins a trio of stages that will decide the overall winner. The flat test comes before two brutal mountain stages.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

The stage to Peñas Blancas is another prime opportunity for an ambush, with three classified ascents mid-stage before a long descent and short run through the valley to the final category 1 climb.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

As if 205 kilometres and a long hors-categorie ascent on the previous stage wasn’t enough, the penultimate stage packs five categorised climbs into a 206.7 kilometre stage to the hors-categorie Collado del Alguacil. Three cat. 1 climbs and hardly a flat road in sight, this queen stage will be a doozy.

(Image credit: Unipublic)

With the GC decided on the previous day, the final stage in Grenada will have four closing circuits and a short, sharp climb to the finish to decide the winner of the points classification.