tour de spain 2023

2023 Vuelta a España route

A complete guide to the mountains, from the Tourmalet to Angliru, set to punish the peloton in 2023 Vuelta a España

The theme of the 2023 Vuelta a España is climbing, with only three truly 'flat' stages - 7, 12, 19 and the final day in Madrid, and punishing ascents such as the Col du Tourmalet in the same day as the hors categorie Col d'Aubisque, Col du Soulor and Col de Spandelles, and a short but frantic stage finishing on the brutally steep Altu de l’Angliru.

In total, 10 stages will end in uphill finishes, including the five unprecedented ascents, for the Vuelta, of the Arinsal in Andorra, le Tourmalet, Larra -Belagua, Bejes and La Cruz de Linares.

In addition to the team time trial, and the flat stages. the 3153.8km route also includes two flat stages with high-altitude finales, six hilly stages, seven mountain stages and one individual time trial. From the start in Barcelona to the finish in Madrid, Cyclingnews has all the route details.

While Remco Evenepoel all but won the 2022 Vuelta a España on the time trial stage in Benidorm, this year's mid-race 25-kilometre chrono in Valladolid is less likely to shape the race.

Vuelta a España 2023 route revealed with Tourmalet - Angliru double-whammy Analysis: 2023 Vuelta a España returns to its climbing roots

A fairly flat team time trial kicks off the racing on August 26 where time gaps are expected to be small. The overall standings will explode on the 158.5km stage 3 for the first summit finale at Arinsal in Andorra, preceded by the equally tough Coll d'Ordino crested around 20km to go.

If the sprinters’ teams manage to control the breakaways, hilly stages in the first week of racing, stages 4 and 5 could also come down to a bunch sprint.

The climb up to the Astrophysical Observatory of Javalambre becomes tougher in its final slope of the Pico del Buitre for the finale of 183.5km stage 6 could well mark a change in the overall leader as demonstrated in 2019.

After a flat stage 7 , the climbing returns for the intense 165km stage 8 with a climb of the demanding slopes of Xorret de Catí with grades up to 22% before the 3km downhill to the finish. To close out the first week of racing, a steady climb to the line on the Alto de Caravaca de la Cruz on hilly 184.5km stage 9 .

The second week of racing will begin with the stage 10 time trial followed by the first flat stage with an uphill finish at Laguna Negra on stage 11, a stage earmarked by all the rouleurs in the field .

Stage 12 , though considered a flat stage could wreak havoc as echelons are frequent whenever the Vuelta goes to Zaragoza. If this happens, it will be a dangerous day for the riders who don’t handle this type of situation well.

The peloton heads into France for the punishing foray in the Pyrenees on stage 13 . It consists of over 4,000 metres of elevation gain over 135km and will not offer a single kilometre of respite. It will be demanding right from the start, with the ascent of the Portalet. Then, the climbs of the Col d’Aubisque, the Col de Spandelles and finally the ascent of the Col de Tourmalet, a first for the Vuelta.

Before enjoying the second rest day, the riders will face very another demanding mountain stage 14 with two hors category climbs of Col Hourcére and Puerto de Larrau and a never seen before the final climb of Puerto de Belagua, followed by hilly stage 15 , another stage favourable to the breakaway.

Riders return with a short but furious stage to Bejes on stage 16 where the uphill finish on the category 2 climb is only 5 kilometres long but includes ramps of up to 15%.

Stage 17 , with its cruel finish on the Angliru with 20% slopes in the final two kilometres, will be a decisive one for the race’s final outcome. Riders will face two category 1 climbs, the Alto de la Colladiella and the Alto del Cordal, before arriving at the feared slopes of Angliru on the 124.5km stage.

A new summit finish on the Puerto de la Cruz de Linares on stage 18 combined with tired legs will make for unpredictable outcomes.

There's one more truly flat stage before a 208.4km long lumpy stage 20 to Guadarrama that offers little chance for respite. The parade into Madrid will bring welcome relief and a new Vuelta champion.

Stage 1: Barcelona - Barcelona, 14.8km - Team Time Trial

Stage 2: mataró - barcelona, 181.3km - hilly, stage 3: súria - arinsal, andorra, 158.5km - mountain, stage 4: andorra la vella, andorra - tarragona, 183.4km - hilly, stage 5: morella - burriana, 185.7km - hilly, stage 6: la vall d’uixó - observatorio astrofísico de javalambre, 181.3km - mountain, stage 7: utiel - oliva, 188.8km - flat, stage 8: dénia - xorret de catí, costa blanca interior, 164.8km - mountain, stage 9: cartagena - collado de la cruz de caravaca, 180.9km - hilly, stage 10: valladolid - valladolid, 25km - time trial, stage 11: lerma - la laguna negra, vinuesa, 163.2km - flat, uphill finale, stage 12: ólvega - zaragoza, 165.4km - flat, stage 13: formigal, huesca la magia - col du tourmalet, 134.7km - mountain, stage 14: sauveterre-de-béarn - larra-belagua, 161.7km - mountain, stage 15: pamplona - lekunberri, 156.5km - hilly, stage 16: liencres playa - bejes, 119.7km - flat, uphill finale, stage 17: ribadesella/ribeseya - altu de l'angliru, 122.6km - mountain, stage 18: pola de allande - la cruz de linares, 178.9km - mountain, stage 19: la bañeza - íscar, 177.4km - flat, stage 20: manzanares el real - guadarrama, 208.4km - hilly, stage 21: hipódromo de la zarzuela - madrid, paisaje de la luz, 101km - flat.

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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.

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The Route of La Vuelta 23

The official presentation of the route of La Vuelta 23 was held at the Palau de la Música Catalana on Tuesday. The Spanish tour’s 78th edition will take off from Barcelona on Saturday, the 26th of August and will conclude in Madrid on the 17th of September. Its 21 stages will include 12 unprecedented departures and eight unprecedented finish-lines, all while visiting nine autonomous communities and three countries: Spain, Andorra and France. The cyclists will face ten high-altitude finales, five of which are new to La Vuelta, two time trials, seven mountains stages, six mid-mountain stages, four flat stages and two flat stages with high-altitude finales.

Unipublic has presented, on Tuesday the 10th of January, the route of La Vuelta 23, that will take place between the 26th of August and the 17th of September . For the second time in its history, the Spanish tour will take off from Barcelona. The city will host an urban team time trial as its first stage and the second stage will depart from Mataró and arrive in Barcelona once again, in front of the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.

Following the two first finish-lines in Barcelona, the peloton will then head to Andorra from Súria in order to experience the race’s first mountain stage. The Principality will host La Vuelta 23’s first unprecedented high-altitude finale with a climb of Arinsal . The riders will sleep in Andorra before heading South from Andorra La Vella towards Tarragona in order to conclude the race’s initial Catalan and Andorran journey.

The Autonomous Community of Valencia will be the star of the next phase of La Vuelta. The riders will ride through the Province of Castellón in a mid-mountain stage between Morella and Burriana . The Castellón locality of La Vall d’Uixó will be the starting point for the next stage, heading to Teruel, with the final climb up to the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre as the day’s main attraction. The race’s first flat stage will take place on the 7th day, with a finale that will benefit the sprinters at Oliva . The peloton will then bid farewell to the Autonomous Community of Valencia with a finale along the Costa Blanca, on a summit that is already well-known to the riders: Xorret de Catí .

As a final challenge to end the week before the rest day, the Region of Murcia will put the riders to the test with a stage beginning in the coast, in Cartagena , heading inland towards the finish-line in Caravaca de la Cruz.

The second week of competing will begin in the Province of Valladolid with a 25-kilometre individual time trial. The peloton will then continue its route towards Castilla y León ’s West, in order to visit the Laguna Negra in Vinuesa . Zaragoza will provide sprinters will a final opportunity before heading to the Pyrenees for two challenging mountain stages: Aubisque and Tourmalet first, and Issarbe, Larrau and Larra-Belagua on the second day – two stages that will play a deciding role within the race. Pamplona and Lekunberri will host the stage before the second and final rest day.

The demanding nature of the race will not diminish in the last week of racing as, following the unprecedented high-altitude finale in Bejes , will be La Vuelta’s great colossus: L’Angliru . The Principality of Asturias will, once again, be the judge of the race with its unprecedented high-altitude finale in Cruz de Linares , as was the case in 2022 with the Colláu Fancuaya. The Castilian wind may play an important role on the way to Íscar, giving sprinters their opportunity before arriving in Madrid. The second-last linear stage will be held in the Guadarrama Basin in a “ classic” stage format , featuring 10 3rd category climbs that will determine La Vuelta’s final overall winner before the traditional final stage in Madrid .

BARCELONA, A CITY THAT LOVES SPORTS

Barcelona will be an exceptional host for the grand departure of La Vuelta 23. “When we looked at Barcelona, we took into account four essential pillars that define the city and fit in perfectly with La Vuelta’s own philosophy: sports , sustainability , tradition and innovation . As a large cycling event, those four characteristics are extremely important to us,” assured Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta.

LA VUELTA DE LOS COLOSOS

Mountains will play an important role in La Vuelta’s 78th edition. Familiar summits such as Angliru, Xorret de Catí and Javalambre will feature along with unprecedented summits such as Larrau, Larra-Belagua, Cruz de Linares and one of cycling’s most mythical summits: the Tourmalet . “Mountains are a part of La Vuelta’s DNA and will make the 2023 edition very exciting, yet again,” said Guillén. “The Tourmalet will be a landmark in the history of our race and will be this year’s great colossus, along with the Angliru. We continue searching for new summits in order to showcase great cycling and it is in this search that we discovered new finales at Larra-Belagua, Cruz de Linares and Bejes , and such mountain passes as Larrau and Issarbe,” explains the race’s General Director.

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