Vuelta a España 2026 route

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.

But while a first week summit finish high in the Pyrenees of Font Romeu on stage 3 will act as a key initial GC sort-out and the lengthy uphill grind to Aitana in eastern Valencia on stage 9 surely becomes another, at first view, it's the final two weeks in southern Spain that really catch the eye - and which could decide the race.

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.

Stage 21's finale is anything but ceremonial, even if it starts off - just like one Vuelta stage did a couple of years ago - with a neutralised section through a hypermarket. Following the brief spin past the shopping trolleys and food halls of a Carrefour shopping centre just outside Granada, the race thankfully ends with a much more historical setting, consisting of repeat uphill grinds to the foot of one of Spain's best-known monuments, the Alhambra medieval fortress-palace, perched high above the centre of the same southern city.

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 stages in the Canary Islands archipelago, over 1,000 kilometres distant from mainland Spain.

But the Islands' regional government backtracked barely a month ago, alleging concerns about the Israel-Premier Tech squad, whose participation in the 2025 Vuelta had wreaked havoc due to protests over the Gaza war. Granada has become the race's most southerly finale since the sherry-producing city of Jerez de la Frontera, way back in 1986.

Who could be up there fighting for the win? For Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), searching for his fifth, record-breaking Vuelta a España title, it's fair to say that the race no longer holds any secrets. However, thanks to such a tough start through the Pyrenees in the first week, the Slovenian star will have to be prepared to make inroads on the GC right from the get-go.

Furthermore, on such a globally challenging course, any early mistakes - such as when Roglič let rival Ben O'Connor make a devastating long-distance GC attack on stage 6 of the 2024 race - could exact a very heavy price in these ultra-demanding final stages. And the series of punchy little climbs and twisting urban descents through the centre of Granada on the very last day of racing of the 2026 Vuelta could even see a last-minute battle for victory go all the way to the final line.

Stage 1: Monaco-Monaco (ITT), 9.6km

The Vuelta's starting point, an opening time trial through the streets of Monaco, is even more unusual for a race which specialises in surprises, although fans with long memories will recall a very similar stage 1 individual TT in Monaco in the 2009 Tour de France, captured by Fabian Cancellara ahead of the eventual overall winner, Alberto Contador.

At 9.1 kilometres, the 2026 Vuelta time trial is six kilometres shorter than the 2009 Tour's equivalent. But then, as now, the combination of a very technical course and short, punchy climbs, many of them part of Monaco's famous Formula 1 circuit, could catch out the unwary amongst the GC challengers all the same.

Stage 2: Monaco-Manosque, 215.2km

The rolling terrain between Monaco and Manosque in the South of France will cater to the breakaway artists will have only a slim chance to hold off the sprinters with a small climb in the closing kilometres and an uphill drag to the line.

Stage 3: Gruissan-Font Romeu, 166.7km

Heading back towards Spain, the Vuelta's two days in the Pyrenees that follow almost immediately afterwards have very different formats, but they'll both serve to remove some major names from the GC equation.

Stage 3 up the little-known Col de Mont-Louis, and then onto the category 2 climb of Font de San-Romeu comprises a grinding ascent from the Mediterranean coast to nearly 2,000 metres above sea level.

Stage 4: Andorra La Vella-Andorra La Vella, 104.9km

Stage 4 is a much shorter non-stop run of category 1 climbs through Andorra, all of them familiar to the many riders resident in the tax-friendly mountain mini-state. At just 104 kilometres, it will be a risky day for the GC contenders who will have to be attentive to attacks early in the stage and on the short but sharp final category 3 climb in the last four kilometres.

Stage 5: Falset. Costa Daurada-Roquetes. Terres de L'Ebre, 171.1km

Stage 5's windswept run through the delta of the River Ebro finally sees the Vuelta on Spanish soil. With one small climb outside the final 20km, it should be a day for the sprinters.

Stage 6: Alcossebre-Castelló, 176.8km

Stage 6 could be ambush territory, with the category 1 Puerto El Bartolo featuring a 3.5km stretch of gravel before the summit and cresting 19km before the flat finish.

Stage 7: Vall d'Alba-Aramón Valdelinares, 149.9km

The ascent to Aramon Valdelinares in the remote region of Teruel on stage 7 could provide a few GC surprises, coming at the end of a 149-kilometre journey from 200m above sea level to 1,951 metres.

Stage 8: Puçol-Xeraco, 176.4km

Stage 8 offers the climbers some respite, with just one category 2 mountain in the 176.4-kilometre stage. Any sprinter wanting to go for the stage win will have to survive the Puerto de Barx with 22.2km to go.

Stage 9: La Vila Joiosa / Villajoyosa-Alto de Aitana. Costa Blanca, 187.5km

The 5,000 metres of vertical climbing to Aitana on stage 9, deep in the sierras of Alicante, will almost certainly act as the Vuelta's first set piece major mountain battle - and simultaneously bring down the curtain on an unusually hard first week.

By the time the Vuelta reaches Aitana, another big factor will surely have made an impact, too: the heat. Temperatures in southern Spain in late August and early September regularly reach the low 40s for days on end, and the accumulated toll on riders next summer as the Vuelta takes on one major mountain challenge after another will likely have an important effect on the racing.

Stage 10: Alcaraz-Elche de la Sierra, 184.5km

Stage 10 gives the peloton a break after the first rest day with some undulating roads and only three category 3 climbs in the 184km stage. The heat and distance will be a bigger challenge than the terrain.

Stage 11: Cartagena-Lorca, 156.1km

Stage 11 is almost the same as stage 8, with a single climb with 33.5km to go the only chance to dislodge the pure sprinters. The route plateaus after the summit giving dropped riders a chance to fight back on and contest the stage.

Stage 12: Vera-Calar Alto, 166.5km

Stage 12 is the next big summit finish of Calar Alto, a climb last tackled in the 2021 Vuelta where Primoz Roglič took another big step towards overall victory, runs through the semi-deserts of eastern Andalucia. It's an area so bleak and dry it was used for the filming of the 1970s Clint Eastwood 'Spaghetti Westerns'.

Stage 13: Almunecar-Loja, 193.2km

There's enough elevation gain early in the 193-kilometre stage 13 to suggest the fast men might be joining the autobus, giving the punchier sprinters a chance to fight for the stage win. The last classified climb is a distant 38km from the line.

Stage 14: Jaén-Sierra de la Pandera, 152.7km

Although not so famous to cinema buffs, the other big second week mountain top challenge of the Sierra de la Pandera on stage 14 will likely witness yet more blisteringly hot weather and a brutal run up to 1,800 metres in altitude.

Stage 15: Palma del Río-Córdoba, 181.2km

This hilly stage ends with flat roads and possibly a bunch sprint, but the tickets for the autobus will be collected on the two category 3 ascents in the second half of the 181.2km stage.

Stage 16: Cortegana-La Rábida. Palos de la Frontera, 186km

A hilly day ends with flat roads for the sprinters to have a chance for the win.

Stage 17: Dos Hermanas-Sevilla, 189km

If the previous two stages weren't flat enough, the pure sprinters will hardly have to deal with a highway overpass en route to Sevilla.

Stage 18: El Puerto de Santa María-Jerez de la Frontera (ITT), 32.5km

The 32.5 kilometre individual time trial begins a trio of stages that will decide the overall winner. The flat test comes before two brutal mountain stages.

Stage 19: Vélez-Málaga-Peñas Blancas. Estepona, 205.1km

The stage to Peñas Blancas is another prime opportunity for an ambush, with three classified ascents mid-stage before a long descent and short run through the valley to the final category 1 climb.

Stage 20: La Calahorra-Collado del Alguacil, 206.7km

As if 205 kilometres and a long hors-categorie ascent on the previous stage wasn't enough, the penultimate stage packs five categorised climbs into a 206.7 kilometre stage to the hors-categorie Collado del Alguacil. Three cat. 1 climbs and hardly a flat road in sight, this queen stage will be a doozy.

Stage 21: Carrefour Granada-Granada, 99.4km

With the GC decided on the previous day, the final stage in Grenada will have four closing circuits and a short, sharp climb to the finish to decide the winner of the points classification.