The Vuelta a España’s red jersey is not just a symbol of the Spanish flag, soaring temperatures and pure fuego. It’s the red muleta waved tantalisingly in front of 184 competitors as they charge to Madrid from the start line in Turin. While some are locked in like a charging bull to the general classification battle for the maillot rojo, others’ interests lie elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines to follow outside of the GC fight.
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The first Italian Gran Partidas in 90 years
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While a Grand Départ or Grande Partenza in another country is begetting of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, it is only really a novelty for the Gran Partidas at the Vuelta a España. From 1935 to 2021, only three editions of the race began outside of Spain, with neighbouring Portugal granted the honour of being the first in 1997, then the Netherlands in 2009 and France in 2017.
Breaks in this tradition are now more common. In 2022, the Vuelta began in the Netherlands before returning to Portugal in 2024. This year the peloton departs from Italy for the 80th edition and 90th anniversary of the race while the next foreign excursion in 2026 will see the race begin in Monaco.
For this year’s departure, Stage 1 kicks off in Turin on Saturday 23rd August. The day heads north towards the first climb of the race in La Serra, flirting with the southern axis of Lago Maggiore and Lombardy before dipping down to an expected sprint finish in Novara. Things are spiced up almost immediately for a three-week race with the first summit finish on Stage 2 towards Limone Piemonte. It is an almost 20km climb with an average gradient of 5.1% that ramps up to 10% inside the final kilometre.
Stage 3 from San Maurizio Canavese to Ceres packs in almost 2,000m of elevation despite being the second shortest day of the race in terms of distance. Stage 4 is the last to grace Italian soil with its flag drop in Susa, nestled close to the French border, which is then crossed with the ascent of the Col de Montgenèvre before the finish in Voiron. It’s only on Stage 5 that the race rushes into Spain with a team time-trial in Catalonia.
But it doesn’t end there. Andorra is brought into the 2025 edition with both the summit finish on Stage 6 and start of Stage 7 held there. This is the second time in history that the Vuelta winds its way through four countries. They’re really making up for lost time.
Who will be the next Pablo Castrillo?
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It’s one of my favourite sights in cycling. A ProTeam rider fulfilling their wildcard duties by making it into a breakaway as per usual, but then pulling the wool over the eyes of the WorldTour teams to claim a stage win. Last year this rider was Pablo Castrillo for Equipo Kern Pharma.
The team experienced both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows at the 2024 race. They sadly lost their team founder and former president Manolo Azcona, and on the same day, Castrillo attacked from the breakaway on Stage 12 to claim his first WorldTour victory atop Montana de Manzaneda. Once he was unleashed, he couldn’t stop. Only three days later he would win again, prevailing through the mist and 24% gradient of the hors categorie Cuitu Negru. Teammate Urko Berrade would make it three in an unfathomable Grand Tour for the squad.
Castrillo is back again this year, albeit now riding on the WorldTour with Movistar. Equipo Kern Pharma are not here, with the organisation choosing to spread out invites amongst the Spanish teams, selecting Burgos-BH and Cara Rural-Seguros RGA alongside Q36.5 Pro Cycling. All will be chomping at the bit to try and replicate the success of those who went before them.
Tom Pidcock to let his legs do the talking
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Tom Pidcock is planning on dipping a toe into the general classification battle at this year’s Vuelta. I know I said these will be storylines away from the GC, but since I do not see a world in which Pidcock actually wins the red jersey for this edition, it still counts.
Pidcock has stepped down a level from Ineos Grenadiers in the WorldTour to ProTeam Q36.5 Pro Cycling, who don’t automatically race the Grand Tours, instead relying on wildcard invites from organisations, of which they received two this season.
Pidcock raced to 16th overall at the Giro after a handful of top ten stage finishes. He might not have the same level of support if trying for GC that he had at Ineos Grenadiers, though they themselves have been a team in decline since their GC peak in the previous decade, but he’ll still have the likes of Fabio Christen, David de la Cruz and Damien Howson for support. With the team they’re building too after recent signings in Eddie Dunbar and Fred Wright, don’t be surprised to see this as just the building blocks of a successful future.
This will be Pidcock’s second Vuelta after finishing down in 67th on debut in 2021. But the Brit has experienced a successful season so far in stage races with immediate overall victory at the AlUla Tour, a third place at the Vuelta a Andalucía, sixth place at Tirreno-Adriatico and a recent second place at the Arctic Race of Norway.
Mads Pedersen vs Jasper Philipsen
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Until recently, it looked to be a one-horse race involving only Mads Pedersen in the race for the points jersey at the Vuelta. His best competition for fast finishes looked to be Picnic PostNL’s Casper van Uden and the IPT duo of Ethan Vernon and Jake Stewart, all speedy but not on the level of the dominating figure of the Dane (although Van Uden was able to claim a Giro win ahead of Pedersen this season while Vernon finished ahead of him in all stages at the Deutschland Tour).
However, now frontline sprinter Jasper Philipsen will also be in Turin too. Philipsen abandoned the Tour with a broken collarbone during Stage 3 after crashing in the green jersey. In terms of pure sprinting, Philipsen has the edge. But the Vuelta loves to throw in climbs wherever possible, which should suit better Pedersen. Still, it’ll likely be a close call for the first maillot rojo at the end of day one.
Whether the Bola del Mundo summit finish gets the green light
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Stage 20 of the Vuelta is expected to come to a dramatic close with the ascent of the Alto de Guarramillas, or the Bola del Mundo after the Puerto de Navacerrada with the gradient expected to hit a leg-breaking 23%. But according to Cycling News, the group Ecologists in Action believe the ecosystem will be damaged.
The group cites a previous ascent in 2012, alleging the Vuelta did not follow recommended protections, had insufficient numbers of bins, allows vehicles to drive up despite previously specifying only motos and ambulances would be allowed, and that crowds trampled on the flora at the park.
At the time of writing, the route is unchanged. For more on the Vuelta a España, visit our hub page.
