This year’s Vuelta a España will cover a total distance of 3280.5 kilometres. It consists of one team time trial, one individual time trial, seven mountain stages, six flat stages, four intermediate stages and two summit finishes, starting in Utrecht and finishing in the Spanish capital of Madrid.
In 2022, we will see the 77th edition of the Vuelta a España which begins on the 19th August with a flat team time trial on the wide roads of the Netherlands spanning 23.3 kilometres. After two flat stages which we can expect to finish in bunch sprints, we hit the race’s first race day on the August 22. It’s here when the peloton will fly to Spain for the fourth stage in the Basque country. The race will stay in the North of Spain with stages in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Inun, Bilbao, Camargo, Cistierna and Villaviciosa, most of which include the steep, sharp climbs which are synonymous with the area.
The second rest day of the Vuelta which will be used to travel down to the South coast with the tenth stage, a 30.9 kilometre individual time trial, finishing in the famous coastal city of Alicante. The time trial is flat and fast, which means it could spell danger for the pure climbers in the GC competition. In the final part of the time trial the riders will race along the coastline and potentially face crosswinds –extra care will need to be taken here.
It’s another expected sprint stage the following day before a summit finish on Peñas Blancas on stage 12. This will be one for the puncheurs and we can expect a fiery finale. There is one potential sprint opportunity on stage 13 before two mountainous stages in Sierra Nevada. The Hoya de la Mora climb is perhaps the most challenging aspect of these two stages, at 2550m above sea level it is one of the highest roads in Spain.
The final rest day of the race comes on the September 5 and a flat sprint stage follows. After that, though, the roads begin to go up once more for a summit finish on the Monasterio de Tentudía on stage 17, followed by three back-to-back mountain stages, the last of which includes three first category climbs. The sprinters will be relieved to have made it to Madrid for the final stage of the race. It’s a flat stage at just 96 kilometres long which we can expect to be contested by the fastest men in the peloton.
Here’s our stage-by-stage guide to this August’s edition of La Vuelta a España 2022.
La Vuelta a España 2022 Route: The stages
La Vuelta a España 2022 stage…