Brutal climbs of the Tourmalet and l'Angliru feature in 2023 Vuelta a Espana

The Vuelta a Espana, a race that traditionally emphasises climbing, will hit the slopes early and often in 2023, with 10 mountain-top finishes on the route unveiled in Barcelona

The race starts in the Catalan capital on August 26 and finishes in Madrid on September 17. In between it visit France and Andorra and break in several new ascents.

"The mountains are part of the DNA of the Vuelta and will still thrill us in 2023," said Javier Guillen, the director of the Vuelta, at the presentation of the route at the Palace of Catalan Music in Barcelona.

Champion Remco Evenepoel has already said he will race the Giro d'Italia at the start of the season and then skip the Tour de France, which would leave him fresh to defend his Spanish title.

Last year, the young Belgian took the overall lead on the first mountain-top finish and held it the rest of the way for his first major tour victory.

This year the climbing starts even earlier.

After starting with two stages in and around Barcelona, including a team time trial, the peloton will head for the hills on the third day with a first ever visit to the ski resort of Arinsal in Andorra.

The pack then rides south through Catalonia before stage six takes them to another ski resort, Javalambre, in the province of Valencia.

The second week will start with a flat individual time trial through the streets of Valladolid. Then will ride back to the Pyrenees.

A short but nasty 13th stage will take the peloton over four mountain passes and into France. They will climb the Aubisque and the legendary 17km Tourmalet pass, which the Tour de France has visited 87 times.

"Reaching the Tourmalet will be a milestone in the history of our race," Guillen said.

The next day, the riders will again cross the Pyrenees, climbing two brutal passes before another new mountain destination, Porto de Belagua.

After a second rest day, the pack will head along the hilly coast of the Bay of Biscay for the mountains of Asturias and one of the Vuelta's fearsome climbs, the Angliru, where gradients reach 23 percent.

The last chance for contenders to make up time will come on a hilly penultimate stage. It will be the longest of the race, at 208.4 km, and while none of the climbs rank above third category in difficulty, there are 10 of them.

The race then rolls into Madrid for the traditional finish.

2023 La Vuelta Stages

Stage 1 (TTT): Barcelona - Barcelona
Stage 2: Mataró - Barcelona
Stage 3: Súria - Arinsal. Andorra
Stage 4: Andorra la Vella - Tarragona
Stage 5: Morella - Burriana
Stage 6: La Vall d'Uixó - Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre
Stage 7: Utiel - Oliva
Stage 8: Dénia - Xorret de Cati
Stage 9: Cartagena - Caravaca de la Cruz
Stage 10 (ITT) - Valladolid - Valladolid
Stage 11: Lerma - La Laguna Negra. Vinuesa
Stage 12: Ólvega - Zaragoza
Stage 13: Formigal - Col du Tourmalet
Stage 14: Sauvaterre de Béarn - Larra-Belagua
Stage 15: Pamplona - Lekunberri
Stage 16: Liencres Playa - Bejes
Stage 17: Ribadesella/Ribeseya - Alto de l'Angliru
Stage 18: Pola de Allande - La Cruz de Linares
Stage 19: La Bañeza - Íscar
Stage 20: Manzanares El Real - Guadarrama
Stage 21: Hipódromo de la Zarzuela - Madrid

 

 
Tag: vuelta
 
Jan 29 2023 - NEWS: Miguel Ángel López wins the Vuelta San Juan
Jan 28 2023 - NEWS: Sam Wlesford takes surprising stage win at the Vuelta San Juan
Jan 27 2023 - NEWS: Miguel Angel Lopez attacks to win Queen Stage and take Leader's Jersey
Jan 25 2023 - NEWS: Fernando Gaviria finally gets a stage win at the Vuelta San Juan
Jan 24 2023 - NEWS: Quinn Simmons attacks in the last km to win stage 3
Jan 23 2023 - NEWS: Fabio Jakobsen wins Stage 2 Sprint at the Vuelta San Juan
Jan 22 2023 - NEWS: Sam Bennett sprints to 2023 Vuelta San Juan Stage 1 Victory
Jan 10 2023 - NEWS: Brutal climbs of the Tourmalet and l'Angliru feature in 2023 Vuelta a Espana
Dec 22 2022 - NEWS: Remco Evenepoel confirms season debut at the Vuelta San Juan
Nov 04 2022 - NEWS: Rumoured Tourmalet stage finish at the 2023 Vuelta a EspaƱa
Sep 11 2022 - NEWS: Remco Evenepoel seals Vuelta a Espana Victory!
Sep 10 2022 - NEWS: Carapaz wins his third stage as Evenepoel seals overall victory!
Sep 09 2022 - NEWS: Mads Pedersen storms to his third stage victory, Remco retains lead
Sep 08 2022 - NEWS: Evenepoel closer to outright La Vuelta victory with stage 18 win
Sep 07 2022 - NEWS: Rigoberto Uran wins stage 17 from the breakaway as Roglic abandons La Vuelta
Jun 30 2014 - RESULTS: Vuelta Keystone Gran Fondo
Aug 26 2023 - EVENT: 2023 La Vuelta
Sep 09 2023 - EVENT: Vuelta Chapala