On Saturday, August 23, the 80th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a España, or the Tour of Spain, will kick off in Italy. Primoz Roglic was last year’s winner in the Spanish capital Madrid, but he will not be at the start this time. However, with riders like Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso in the mix, there will certainly be fierce competition to succeed Roglic. Read all about it in this article.
Vuelta 2025 Route
For the first time in history, the peloton will start in Italy. On the opening day, a bunch sprint seems the most likely scenario, meaning the first leader’s jersey will probably go to a sprinter. They won’t want to miss that opportunity, because there will be few flat stages to grab afterward. What there will be in abundance, however, are mountains—no fewer than ten summit finishes are on the menu. The first mountain-top finish comes as early as day two, with the finish atop the Puerto Limone.
After another day of racing through the Italian landscape, the Vuelta crosses the French border on day four. There, another tough mountain-top finish awaits. On day five, the race reaches Spain, and a team time trial in Catalonia is on the program.
Andorra is also part of the route, with its famous steep climbs and high altitude. From that point on, the race remains entirely in the north of Spain. There are several spectacular stages scheduled, such as the finish in the high-altitude Cerler Huesca, the stage ending in vibrant Bilbao, and of course, the feared Alto de l’Angliru in stage 13. The latter is one of the hardest climbs in cycling, with gradients that push riders to their absolute limits.
In the final week, the route remains varied. There will still be some tough mountain stages, but also an individual time trial that could shake up the general classification. On the penultimate day, the last mountain showdown takes place with the finish atop the Bola del Mundo—a climb with brutally steep final kilometers where the overall victory could be decided. On Sunday, September 14, the peloton will ride into Madrid for the traditional sprinters’ finale and the coronation of the new Vuelta champion.
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Jonas Vingegaard, two-time Tour de France winner, will be at the Vuelta’s start line for the third time. After his podium finish in the Tour, the Dane took a short rest to prepare for this second Grand Tour of his season. In his last participation, he finished second behind teammate Sepp Kuss, who is also competing this year.
Alongside Kuss is Matteo Jorgenson. The American had a disappointing Tour de France campaign—dropping out of contention early in the GC and only finding some of his old form later in the race. The Vuelta offers him a chance to bounce back.
UAE Emirates XRG is also bringing a strong team to the start, even though their star Tadej Pogačar is absent. Initially, the plan was for him to compete, but after a busy spring and a grueling Tour, he opted for a longer break, with the World Championships in Rwanda and the European Championships in France as his next goals.
Team leadership at UAE will now be shared between João Almeida and Juan Ayuso. Ayuso had to abandon the Giro in May and has struggled to regain top form since. Almeida’s condition is also uncertain: after a crash in the Tour, he was forced to withdraw and hasn’t raced since. It remains to be seen which of the two will truly take up the role of leader.
In the flat stages, much of the spotlight will be on Mads Pedersen of Lidl–Trek. The powerful Danish sprinter was not selected for the Tour this year but did race the Giro, where he won four stages and the points classification. In the Vuelta, the competition seems less intense, which could boost his chances for multiple stage wins.
His main rivals in pure sprints are currently Arne Marit, Elia Viviani, and Ethan Vernon. Another top sprinter might join the fray if he recovers in time from his Tour crash. How Pedersen starts the race will be key to his chances of replicating his Giro performances.
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