Vuelta a España 2012 with team time trial and Bola del Mundo

The 2012 Vuelta a España will open with a team time trial in Pamplona, Spain, and its also expected to include a mountaintop finish on the Bola del Munda, scene of the 2010 showdown between Vincenzo Nibali and Ezequiel Mosquera.  The 2012 course is not scheduled to be presented until January, but a few details have already started filtering through.

Organiser Unipublic is looking at three different routes fo the opening team time trial, the Diario de Navarra reported.  The 15 km route may well include the city's most famous stretch of road, the 852 meters where the annual running of the bulls is held.

"You can make a team time trial there, and we will put it in the race, but it will not be the centerpiece of the race. We want to show more of the city," explained Abraham Olano.

The end of the race is expected to include another visit to the Bola del Munda, a mountaintop finish near Madrid, according to Marca.com.  The climb made its first appearance in the 2010 Vuelta, and featured a duel between the race's top two riders, with Ezequiel Mosquera winning the stage but failing to take enough time to catch race leader Vincenzo Nibali.

It had been rumoured that the race would also visit the Canary Islands, but, Marca said, that “would have to wait at least another year.”