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The 2023 edition of La Vuelta Ciclista a España will depart from Barcelona for the second time in the history of the race, after over 60 years without doing so. In addition, the first 4 stages will take place in Catalonia, so here at Cycling Fantasy, we can't help but celebrate, as the race will literally pass by our office in Barcelona.

Route

The race starts with an urban team time trial in Barcelona. The second stage will finish at Montjuïc with a relatively easy route, but on the third day, the climbs of Coll d’Ordino (8.9 km at 5.1%) and the mountaintop finish in Arinsal (Andorra) (6.9 km at 8.2%) will challenge the cyclists' fitness right at the beginning of the three-week race. Stages 4 and 5 have similar medium mountain profiles, while the sixth stage brings a new uphill finish, this time at the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory (11.1 km at 7.8%). This is where the contenders for the race victory may start to become clearer. The seventh stage offers one of the few obvious opportunities for sprinters, as the next two days will be demanding: the eighth stage features over 3500 meters of accumulated positive elevation and an explosive finish at Xorret del Catí (3.8 km at 11.5%), and the ninth stage finishes with the ascent to Caravaca de la Cruz (8.1 km at 5.4%, with a 1.8 km section at 9.5%).

Following this sequence, the race reaches its first rest day, after which the only individual time trial of the race, covering 24.8 km, takes place in Valladolid. On Wednesday, the race returns to uphill finishes, this time at Laguna Negra (8.3 km at 5%), presenting a good opportunity for a breakaway. The twelfth stage is another of the rare occasion for sprinters, as the next day the cyclists venture into France to face a sequence of mountains worthy of the Tour de France, including ascents of Aubisque (16.6 km at 7%), Spandelles (10.4 km at 8.1%), and culminating at the legendary Tourmalet (18.8 km at 7.4%). The following day, without much time to recover, more mountains await, with a stage with 4500 meters of climbing and the finish line placed at Larra-Belagua (9.4 km at 6.3%). Finally, to conclude this block before the second rest day, the cyclists must overcome a stage from Pamplona to Lekunberri, which features a typical undulating profile of this part of the world and should favor a breakaway.

The final stretch of the race begins with a stage along the Cantabrian coast without major difficulties, but the uphill finish in Bejes (4.7 km at 8.7%) once again rules out sprinters. Wednesday marks the second major mountain stage of the race, with the finish at Alto del Angliru (13.2 km at 9.4%, including impossible gradients reaching 24%). The 18th stage is the last mountain stage of this Vuelta, with two ascents of the Puerto de la Cruz de Linares (8.3 km at 8.5%), providing the last opportunity for pure climbers. Stage 19 is a reward for sprinters who have made it this far, while stage 20 includes 10 ascents in the Sierra de Guadarrama in a stage of over 200 kilometers, the longest of this Vuelta, that could be for the breakaway. Lastly, the race concludes with a local circuit for sprinters in the streets of Madrid.

Favorites

Primož Roglič (1200), Jonas Vingegaard (1200), and Remco Evenepoel (1200) are the three top favorites for the overall classification and lead a spectacular start list that includes many stars of our sport: João Almeida (1200), Alexandr Vlasov (1200), Enric Mas (1000), Juan Ayuso (1000), Geraint Thomas (1000), Jay Vine (600), Sergio Higuita (800), Romain Bardet (800), Mikel Landa (800), Santiago Buitrago (600), and Hugh John Carthy (400) are other contenders for top positions. It will also be interesting to see the development of young climbers such as Cian Uijdebroeks (400), Lenny Martínez (200), and Romain Grégoire (200).

The limited opportunities for fast men make the sprinter lineup weak. Alberto Dainese (600), Juan Sabastían Molano (600), Bryan Coquard (600), Gerben Thijssen (400), Hugo Hofstetter (400), Marijn Van Den Berg (400), Edward Theuns (400), Milan Menten (400), Iván García Cortina (400), and Andrea Vendrame (400) are the main candidates on bunch sprint finishes.

Photo: © Volta a Catalunya