Where: Andalusia, Spain
The Vuelta a Andalucia, more commonly known as the Ruta del Sol, often features a start list packed with Grand Tour talent looking to get some early-season kilometres in their legs.
It was first held in 1925 and gained 2.1 status in 2005. Valverde tops the winners board, with 5 wins. Spain dominate the race proceedings, having taken 37 wins over the history of the race.
The Ruta del Sol sets off with a race featuring more than 3,700 metres, while the Queen Stage is played out on Friday. Running from Jaén to Úbeda, the 175 kilometres race takes in four climbs. An ITT with a few uphill kicks on the last day of action decides on the winner.
Jakob Fuglsang won the 2019 edition of the Ruta del Sol ahead of Ion Izagirre and Steven Kruijswijk. The 2020 edition is likely to see Fuglsang return, alongside other contenders such as Valverde, Landa and Latour.
Stages:
| 1 | we 19-2 | Alhaurín de la Torre – Grazalema | 173.9 | mountains | Row 0 - Cell 5 | Row 0 - Cell 6 | Row 0 - Cell 7 |
| 2 | th 20-2 | Sevilla – Iznájar | 198.7 | hills | Row 1 - Cell 5 | Row 1 - Cell 6 | Row 1 - Cell 7 |
| 3 | fri 21-2 | Jaén – Úbeda | 175 | mountains | Row 2 - Cell 5 | Row 2 - Cell 6 | Row 2 - Cell 7 |
| 4 | sa 22-2 | Villanueva Mesía – Granada | 126 | mountains | Row 3 - Cell 5 | Row 3 - Cell 6 | Row 3 - Cell 7 |
| 5 | su 23-2 | Mijas – Mijas | 13 | ITT |
Key Info: Start List | TV Guide
Previous editions: 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011
External links: Official website (es) | Official twitter feed (es)
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Spanish stage race reduced to single 5km time trial due to farmer protests
The five-day Ruta del Sol was won by Maxim van Gils on Friday, beating Juan Ayuso
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Ineos Grenadiers' Magnus Sheffield takes first professional victory with stage three win at Ruta del Sol
The 19-year-old secured his first pro win in just his ninth start for Ineos Grenadiers
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Alessandro Covi wins stage two of Ruta del Sol with late attack
The UAE Team Emirates rider left the rest of the bunch behind on a cobbled finish in Andalucia.
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Rune Herregodts secures surprise breakaway victory at the Ruta del Sol 2022
The Belgian held off the breakaway to move into the overall lead of the Andalucian stage race
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Ethan Hayter takes final stage of Ruta del Sol 2021, as Miguel Ángel López wins overall
The Brit took another victory from climber’s sprint finish as two riders went down next to him
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Riders delay start of Ruta del Sol stage to protest ‘lack of attention’ given to their safety
The professional rider union said the peloton is concerns about the choice of routes, gravel descents, and large potholes
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Miguel Ángel López hits back to take race lead on stage three of Ruta del Sol 2021
The Colombian took the race lead from Ethan Hayter on the uphill finish to Villarrodrigo
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Dylan Teuns wins stage five time trial as Jakob Fuglsang wraps up Ruta del Sol overall victory
The Dane finished second to Teuns by less than a second on his way to sealing the overall win
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Jack Haig outsprints Jakob Fuglsang and Mikel Landa to stage four victory at Ruta del Sol
The Australian beat the two heavyweights to win the queen stage of the Spanish race
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Jakob Fuglsang profits from Dylan Teuns' wrong turn to win stage three of Ruta del Sol
A mistake from Dylan Teuns and Jack Haig in the final couple hundred metres cost both riders their chance of victory
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Jakob Fuglsang powers clear of Mikel Landa to take thrilling stage one of Ruta del Sol 2020
Jakob Fuglsang powered clear of Mikel Landa to take victory on his first race day of the year on stage one of the Ruta del Sol 2020.
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Tim Wellens extends lead at Ruta del Sol 2019 with stage three time trial win
The Belgian beat second place Jakob Fuglsang by two seconds
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Tim Wellens overpowers rivals to win opening stage of Ruta del Sol 2019
Tim Wellens opened his Ruta del Sol title defence with an emphatic victory on the opening stage.
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'Super bad for cycling... it's a shame he's racing': Tony Martin and others react to Chris Froome's return
Riders at the start of the Ruta del Sol had mixed reactions to Chris Froome's return to racing with an anti-doping investigation into his AAF still ongoing.
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Thomas Boudat wins stage one of Ruta del Sol in photo finish as Chris Froome returns to action
Thomas Boudat (Direct-Energie) won the opening stage of the Ruta del Sol as he out-sprinted Sacha Modolo in a tight photo finish in Mijas.
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Chris Froome: 'When the facts are out people will see things from my point of view'
Chris Froome has said that he believes that when all the facts about his salbutamol case are made public, people will see the case from his point of view.
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Ruta del Sol 2018: Everything you need to know about Chris Froome's return to racing
Full details about the 2018 Ruta del Sol including stage details and profile, live TV coverage, and start list as Chris Froome returns to racing.
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Team Sky announce that Chris Froome will start his 2018 season at Ruta del Sol next week
Chris Froome will start his 2018 season at the Ruta del Sol while lawyers and medical experts continue to work on the ongoing salbutamol case.
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'This has to stop!' - Riders slam drafting behind motorbikes in races
Riders have take to Twitter to voice their anger over motorbikes offering a draft to riders in the Ruta del Sol, Volta ao Algarve and Tour of Oman this week.
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Thibaut Pinot outguns Alberto Contador to win Ruta del Sol queen stage
The queen stage of the Ruta del Sol saw victory for FDJ's Ruta del Sol, who paced himself perfectly to overhaul Alberto Contador in the final metres.
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Mikel Landa to go head-to-head with Chris Froome at Ruta del Sol on Movistar debut
Mikel Landa will have his first chance to go head-to-head with Chris Froome in 2018 after the Spaniard was named in Movistar's team for the Ruta del Sol.
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Alberto Contador takes overall lead after Ruta del Sol stage 1b time trial
- Pim Ligthart wins sprint on stage 1a - Javier Moreno fastest on 8.2km time trial stage 1b Photos by Graham Watson
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Caja-Rural's Gonzalo Serrano denies the favourites on stage two of Ruta del Sol 2020
Victory on day two of the Ruta del Sol went Gonazalo Serrano, who denied the favourites in the tough final climb.
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Nacer Bouhanni wins stage two at the Ruta del Sol; Ben Swift finishes third
Nacer Bouhanni outsprints Fabio Felline and Ben Swift to take stage two at the Ruta del Sol and assumes overall lead of the race
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Wout Poels takes victory on Ruta del Sol stage two summit finish; Chris Froome seventh
Wout Poels (Team Sky) won the second stage of the Ruta del Sol, taking victory on the race's one major summit finish to move into the race lead.
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Ruta del Sol 2020 start list
Provisional list of riders and teams taking part in the 2020 Ruta del Sol in Spain, from February 19-23
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Chris Froome wins Ruta del Sol stage four and takes overall lead
-Froome beats Alberto Contador into second on the summit finish of stage four -Sky rider takes over GC lead by two seconds Photos Graham Watson
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J-J Lobato wins Ruta del Sol stage two, as Froome moves to third in GC
-Spaniard surprises John Degenkolb in the final stretch to claim the stage -Froome moves to third in GC as Contador retains red jersey Photos by Graham Watson
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Inside the Ruta del Sol
Take an inside look at the early season Spanish race as riders and teams prepare for a stage on the Ruta del Sol. Photos by Chris Catchpole
