Vuelta a Espana

Vuelta a Espana coverage from Cycling Weekly, with up to date race results, rider profiles and news and reports.

The Vuelta a España 2023 promises a star studded start list
The Vuelta a España 2023 promises a star studded start list
(Image credit: Justin Setterfield / Getty)

The Vuelta a España 2023 will be the final Grand Tour of the season, with the race following the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the WorldTour calendar.

As is usually the way with the Spanish tour, the Vuelta a España 2023 route is a climb-heavy three weeks, but still chucks in a team time trial opener in Barcelona and a 25km ITT halfway through in Valladolid, and there will be a sprinkling of opportunities for the sprinters to shine (provided they can stay within the time caps on the mountains). 

Whilst full line-ups are yet to be released, the Vuelta a España 2023 start list is beginning to take shape - with GC contenders such as Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and three-time Vuelta winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) already putting their names in the ring for this year's race.

Here's all you need to know ahead of the last Grand Tour of the season. 

Winners podium of the Vuelta a España 2022, won by Remco Evenepoel

(Image credit: Atilano Garcia / Getty)

Vuelta a España 2023: All you need to know

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Vuelta a España 2023: Overview
Date26 August to 17 September
Total distance3,153.8 kilometres
Number of stages21
Start locationBarcelona
Finish locationMadrid
UCI Ranking WorldTour
Edition78
2022 winnerRemco Evenepoel
TV coverage (UK)GCN+, Eurosport
TV coverage (US)FLO Bikes, Discovery Plus

Vuelta a España 2023 route

The route for the Vuelta a España 2023 is a traditional affair for the Spanish race: heavy on the climbs, with little opportunity for sprinters and not a great deal of time trialling.

We've got an overview of the stages below, and you can check out our dedicated Vuelta a España 2023 route page for more stage-by-stage insight.

Map of the 2023 Vuelta a España route

(Image credit: Vuelta a España)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Stage one Barcelona to Barcelona14.8km TTT
Stage twoMataró to Barcelona182km hilly
Stage threeSúria to Arinsal (Andorra)158.5km mountains
Stage fourAndorra la Vella to Tarragona185km hilly
Stage fiveMorella to Burriana186.5km hilly
Stage sixLa Vall d'Uixó to Pico del Buitre183.5km mountains
Stage sevenUtiel to Oliva201km flat
Stage eightDénia to Xorret de Catï165km mountains
Stage nine Cartagena to Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca184.5km hilly
Rest dayValladolidRow 9 - Cell 2
Stage tenValladolid to Valladolid25.8km ITT
Stage 11Lerma to Laguna Negra (Vinuesa)163.5km flat, uphill finish
Stage 12Ólvega to Zaragoza151km flat
Stage 13Formigal to Col du Tourmalet135km mountains
Stage 14Sauveterre de Béarn to Larra Belagua156.5km mountains
Stage 15Pamplona to Lekunberri158.5km hilly
Rest daySantanderRow 16 - Cell 2
Stage 16 Liencres Playa to Bejes 120.5km flat, uphill finish
Stage 17Ribadesella / Ribaseya to Alto de L'Angliru124.5km mountains
Stage 18Pola de Allande to La Cruz de Linares179km mountains
Stage 19La Bañeza to Íscar177.5km flat
Stage 20Manzanares El Real to Guadarrama208km hilly
Stage 21Hipódromo de Zarzuela to Madrid101.5km flat

Vuelta a España jerseys

The jersey presentation in Madrid after the 2022 Vuelta a España

(Image credit: David Pintens / Getty)

The red jersey of the Vuelta's general classification leader is now well established (it was previously gold, but changed in 2010). The leader of the mountains classification wears a polka-dot jersey, but its large blue spots mean it's very different to the one that riders in the Tour de France wear. The points leader's green jersey is lime green, while the jersey for best young rider (born after 1 January 1998), is white – familiar from the Tour de France.

There are other awards on offer as well, including the teams classification and a daily combativity award. There embellished jersey numbers, rather than jerseys, on offer for this.

Riders in the general classification in particular will be interested in the bonus seconds that are available throughout the race. There are 10, 6 and 4 seconds for finishing first, second and third on a stage, plus 3, 2 and 1 seconds at nine different intermediate sprints throughout the race and 10 separate bonus uphill sprints.

Vuelta a España 2023 teams

Remco Evenepoel celebrates with his Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team after winning the 2022 Vuelta a España

(Image credit: Oscar del Pozo / Getty)

There will be 22 teams riding the 2023 Vuelta a España, including all 18 WorldTour teams and four second-tier ProTeams. They are:

Ag2r-Citroën

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Astana Qazaqstan

Bora-Hansgrohe

Bahrain Victorious

Cofidis

EF Education-EasyPost

Groupama-FDJ

Ineos Grenadiers

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty

Jumbo-Visma

Movistar

Soudal-Quick Step

Arkéa-Samsic

Jayco-AlUla

DSM-Firmenich

Lidl-Trek

UAE Team Emirates

Lotto-Dstny (ProTeam)

TotalEnergies (ProTeam)

Burgos-BH (ProTeam)

Caja Rural-Seguros-RGA (ProTeam)

Vuelta a España: winners in the past 10 years

2012: Alberto Contador (Esp) Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank
2013: Chris Horner (USA) RadioShack–Leopard
2014: Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff–Saxo
2015: Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana
2016: Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
2017: Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
2018: Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton–Scott
2019: Primož Roglič (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
2020: Primož Roglič (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
2021: Primož Roglič (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
2022: Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl

Latest