Extreme heat, seven major summit finishes and a large number of stages in southern Spain, including the final one to Granada, all look set to shape the outcome of the 2026 Vuelta a España.
Revealed in full in glitzy Monaco on Wednesday, the 2026 Vuelta route kicks off in the tiny coast city-state close to Italy on Saturday, August 22, with a short, punchy time trial, its third initial starting point in as many years in a foreign country.
After the most southerly stage of 2025 was in the capital of Madrid, this time around, the daunting ascents of sun-parched Calar Alto and La Pandera in eastern Andalusia will precede a key 32-kilometre time trial along the coasts of Cádiz on stage 18.
However, the mountain specialists will likely have the last word in the 2026 Vuelta, with a long grind through the sierras of Ronda ending with the challenging ascent to Peñas Blancas high above the Mediterranean on stage 19.
Things then get even tougher in the Vuelta’s queen stage that includes 5,000 metres of climbing through the foothills of Sierra Nevada on stage 20, culminating with the brutally difficult Hors Category ascent of Collado del Alguacil.
The route in detail
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.
Granada was something of a last-minute selection, given the 2026 Vuelta was initially slated to end with three…
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