Siren songs that want to conquer you, cajole you, take you to their territory, divert you from your path home. Whispers that whisper close to his ear the delights of the race, that enumerate the benefits of the North of the peninsula, fleeing the heat that he likes so little. A melody that reminds him that at 26 years old he could already have three grand in his pocket. It would be the eighth in all of history, the fourth in the 21st century. A catchy chorus that tells him about his debut in the round, in 2019, which aims to strike a chord with what was his launching pad to stardom, with those three stage victories (Cortals d’Encamp, Los Machucos and Gredos ), third place overall and the best young jersey.
That was the clear intention of the presentation of the route of the 80th Vuelta a España, at the IFEMA palace in Madrid, which was a full-fledged invitation to Tadej Pogacar to choose the Vuelta to complete his calendar. The Slovenian from the UAE, the great winner of 2024, will wait to find out what path the Giro d’Italia poses for him before finally making his decision.
After three days in Italy and one in France
On August 27, the test arrives in Figueres with a 20 km team time trial
For now he already knows what awaits him if he ultimately tries to aspire to the red jersey. The test will leave Turin on August 23, four weeks after the podium on the Champs-Elysées, with three stages in Italy and one, the fourth, in France, a medium-mountain race.
The fifth day, after a plane transfer from Grenoble, will be a 20-kilometer team time trial in Figueres. And the sixth, which will depart from Olot, will head to the Andorran Pyrenees (Pal).
Your launch pad
In his only participation, the Slovenian, who was 20 years old, was third overall and won three stages
In total, there are ten high finishes. Ten! Some old ones like Cerler (7th) or Valdezcaray (9th), and others more innovative like Larra Belagua (10th), La Farrapona (14th) or Alto del Morredero (17th). But above all to enchant Pogacar, the organization returns to two mythical and very tough ports. The first will be L’Angliru, after crowning Mozqueta and El Cordal (13th) and the big surprise is saved for the end is the return to La Bola del Mundo, a very steep extra to the Navacerrada pass on the penultimate day (20th. ª).
Route map of the Vuelta a España 2025
Between the two mountainous weekends, there will be the only individual time trial in Valladolid (18th) of just 26 km of fight against the clock.
Up to 13 Vuelta champions, starting with the octogenarian Agustín Tamames, winner of 1974, took the stage. He was followed by Marino Lejarreta, Álvaro Pino, Pedro Delgado, Mauri, Jalabert, Zülle, Olano, Casero, Heras, Contador, Aru, Nairo Quintana and even Chris Froome. A list in which the race goes out of its way to add Tadej Pogacar, the cyclist of the moment, sooner rather than later.
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