Jerez de la Frontera most likely candidate for Grand Depart
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Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) remains in the general classification lead at the Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Sirotti)
Leopold König (NetApp-Endura) on the podium after winning stage 8 at the Vuelta a Espana, the Czech's first career Grand Tour stage victory(Image credit: Sirotti)
After two starts in the north of Spain, in Pamplona in 2012 and Galicia in 2013, and one in the south-east, in Benidorm in 2011, the 2014 Vuelta a Espana is expected to start in Spain’s southwesterly region of Cadiz, Spanish TV has reported.
Race organisers Unipublic have refused to confirm or deny the story.
Although a specific location is not known yet for the Vuelta 2014’s Grand Depart, the city of Jerez de La Frontera, which hosted a stage start this year on stage 8, is reported to be top of the list, with a start in its famous motorbike circuit more than likely.
Starts in the Algarve in Portugal had been rumoured as well as the Canary Islands, but for the fourth year running the race is expected to start in Spain, with more stages in the Cadiz region before the race heads north or east.
Extreme heat of over 40 degrees centigrade in the mid-afternoon is likely to be an important factor in the racing in the South of Spain. When the Vuelta last started in the south, in Seville in 2010, organisers held the first stage at midnight to try and beat the heat.
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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
