With the men’s Tour de France in the rearview mirror and the women’s Tour approaching its crucial high-mountain finish this weekend, the time for the Grand Tour season’s last-chance saloon is nigh. The Vuelta a España is almost here.
On the heels of a dramatic 2023 race whose most interesting battles were fought all within a single team, organizers have cooked up another Vuelta with no shortage of opportunities for excitement and a welcome dearth of boring flat stages. Defending champion Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), three-time winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and a stacked UAE Team Emirates will do battle on some tricky terrain in the season’s final Grand Tour.
All told, the climbers will like their chances at this race. The individual time trials that bookend the route total less than 40 km between them, and the many brutal climbs that riders will tackle throughout the Vuelta should make for a very hard three weeks.
Here is your stage-by-stage guide to the 2024 Vuelta a España …
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Stages start at different times, but finishes will typically be around 17:30 CET / 11:30 EDT / 12:30 AEST (next day). Stages 1 and 21 will finish later – around 19:30 CET / 14:30 EDT / 02:30 AEST
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Stage 1: Lisboa to Oeiras – 12 km (ITT)
Date: Saturday August 17, 2024
Stage type: Individual time trial
Summary: A TT will decide the first wearer of the red jersey in Portugal. You can expect that rider to have a big engine. This is a short and flat test and it is not especially technical either. It will favor the specialists.
Stage 2: Cascais to Ourém – 194 km
Date: Sunday August 18, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Although the stage is officially signposted by the organizers as “hilly,” this is a pretty flat one by Vuelta standards, and it should come down to a sprint because the final climb is not particularly hard and then it’s downhill or flat from there.
Stage 3: Lousã to Castelo Branco – 191.2 km
Date: Monday August 19, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: The final day fully in Portugal has a decent chance but no certainty of coming down to a sprint. The day’s two climbs could inspire the breakaway specialists to try their luck, but the pack will have the advantage in the closing kilometers. The more versatile sprinters will like their chances.
Stage 4: Plasencia to Pico Villuercas – 170.4 km
Date: Tuesday August 20, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Who’s ready for some GC action? The first two climbs will put some early fatigue into the legs – and could spring a strong breakaway – and then the ascent to the finish line will be a serious test at this point in the race. With an average gradient of 6.2%, the Pico Vullercas climb may not seem all that hard, but two thirds of the way in, the road ramps up into the double digits for an extended stretch. Whether from the break or the bunch, the stage win will go to a very strong climber.
Stage 5: Fuente del Maestre to Sevilla – 177 km
Date: Wednesday August 21, 2024
Stage type: Flat
Summary: With no categorized climbs on the docket, stage 5 is the one day deemed truly “flat” by organizers. We should be in for a bunch sprint in the Andalusian capital at the end of the day.
Stage 6: Carrefour Jerez Sur. Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera – 185.5 km
Date: Thursday August 22, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Stage 6 tackles some ascents, including one that concludes the stage, although the Alto de las Abejas (literally, the “hill of the bees,” so maybe riders should watch out for those) is on the easier end of the spectrum of Vuelta finishing climbs. This could be a breakaway day or it could go to someone in the GC group.
Stage 7: Archidona to Córdoba – 180.2 km
Date: Friday August 23, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: The lone categorized climb of stage 7 features some steep stuff, at least enough to jettison the sprinters before the finale. It could also be a launching pad for late attacks, though it will take a real effort to hold off any chasers with about 25 km still to race from the top.
Stage 8: Úbeda to Cazorla – 158.7 km
Date: Saturday August 24, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Another day at the Vuelta, another climb to the line. Don’t let the categorization fool you: The Sierra de Cazorla ascent is short but it’s enough to force splits. Double-digit gradients in the last kilometer could bring the GC riders to the fore.
Stage 9: Motril to Granada – 178.2 km
Date: Sunday August 25, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: The last stage before the first rest day will be a major test. The Puerto de El Purche and Alto de Hazallanas (which will be tackled twice) are very steep, and riders will have very little time to recover as they do three back-to-back-to-back climbing efforts. The stage win could go to a break or to someone who can attack the GC group and then shine on the descent into Granada.
Stage 10: Pontearas to Baiona – 159.6 km
Date: Tuesday August 27, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Get ready for a change of scenery now that the Vuelta has left arid Andalusia for green Galicia. Stage 10 should be a fun one with multiple potential launching pads late in the day, particularly the final Cat. 1 climb. It’s far enough from the finish that the stagehunters may have a shot at getting clear of the GC group.
Stage 11: Campus Tecnológico Cortizo. Padrón to Campus Tecnológico Cortizo. Padrón – 166.4 km
Date: Wednesday August 28, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: The climbs of stage 11 should favor the Classics types who can handle short punchy efforts. The last ascent of the day, the Puerto Cruxeiras, has an average gradient nearing 9% that will hopefully spur some attacks.
Stage 12: Ourense Termal to Estación de Montaña de Manzaneda – 137.4 km
Date: Thursday August 29, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Stage 12 is very short at 137.4 km, and it will probably be raced very fast. The stage win will all come down to that Cat. 1 finishing climb, which is a stairstep affair with a tough stretch near the top before things ease off again. A certain three-time Vuelta GC winner should like his chances to either drop his rivals or best them in a sprint to the line as he has done so many times in his career.
Stage 13: Lugo to Puerto de Ancares – 175.6 km
Date: Friday August 30, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Nobody does steep finishing climbs quite like the Vuelta. The Puerto de Ancares has an average gradient of 9.3%. In fact, after a much easier first two kilometers, it’s in the double digits basically all the way to the finish line, with some 15% sections along the way. The elevation is nothing to scoff at either. This will be a day with GC implications.
Stage 14: Villafranca del Bierzo to Villablino – 200.4 km
Date: Saturday August 31, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: The Puerto de Leitariegos is not particularly steep but it’s a long slog at a remarkably consistent 4.5% average grade. It would be a surprise to see the big GC favorites try anything with another brutal day ahead, which could give the stagehunters a chance.
Stage 15: Infiesto to Valgrande-Pajares. Cuiti Negru – 142.9 km
Date: Sunday September 1, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Stage 15 could be the decisive stage of the GC battle at this Vuelta a España, and the profile is a great illustration of why. The two trips up the Cat. 1 Alto de la Colladiella won’t be easy, but that climb is nothing compared to the Cuitu Negru. The climb is officially 18.9 km at 7.4%, with a very steep section just after the midway point and then again for the entirety of the final 3 km. The 1,847 meter (6,060 ft) altitude could also have an impact. The GC riders will all be focused on battling it out on this stage.
Stage 16: Luanco to Lagos de Covadonga – 181.3 km
Date: Tuesday September 3, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: Immediately after the rest day, the Vuelta peloton will have to get right back into climbing mode with a stage that ends at the beautiful – but brutal – Lagos de Covadonga in Asturias. It is an irregular climb with several pitches that could spur attacks in the finale. Past Vueltas a España have been won and lost on these gradients.
Stage 17: Monumento Juan de Castillo. Arnuero to Santander – 141.5 km
Date: Wednesday September 4, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Stage 17 will take the peloton into the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and then back down towards the Cantabrian capital of Santander, where the sprinters who have survived the many grueling days in the mountains could have a shot at another win along the Bay of Biscay.
Stage 18: Vitoria-Gasteiz to Maeztu-Parque Natural de Izki – 179.3 km
Date: Thursday September 5, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Stage 18 is one of the harder days of the Vuelta to predict. The profile could favor the breakaway specialists, with enough up-and-down to drop many of the sprinters and not enough to entice the GC favorites.
Stage 19: Logroño to Alto Moncalvillo – 173.2 km
Date: Friday September 6, 2024
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: After a calm start in La Rioja, stage 19 gets tough in the end with the Alto de Moncalvillo climb, whose 8.3% gradient could draw out some GC action. Then again, the last two days of the Vuelta will also test the GC riders, so maybe they will decide to keep their powder dry here.
Stage 20: Villarcayo to Picón Blanco – 172 km
Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
Stage type: Mountains
Summary: The final mountain stage of the Vuelta is a doozy, with seven categorized climbs in full. The last one at Picón Blanco has the gradients to force a major selection, and the climbers should be motivated to make something happen with a very un-climber-friendly TT looming.
Stage 21: Distrito Telefónica. Madrid to Madrid – 24.6 km (ITT)
Date: Sunday September 8, 2024
Stage type: Individual time trial
Summary: Just like this year’s Tour, the 2024 Vuelta will finish with a time trial. It’s not especially long and it’s quite flat. The TT specialists will thrive on the course, and the climbers will just hope they don’t lose spots on the GC leaderboard on the final day of the race.
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