The 2024 Vuelta a España route will be harder than that of 2023, with race director Javier Guillén hinting there will be no transition stages, lots of climbing in the major mountains of Spain before a showdown in the Asturian mountains and the traditional Madrid finish.
In 2026, the third Grand Tour of men's professional could start in Mallorca, with the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa with a mountain finish on Mount Teide, where lots of riders head for altitude training, a more remote possibility according to Guillén.
The route of the 2024 Vuelta a España will be presented in Madrid on Monday, December 19. The race will be held between Saturday, August 17 and September 8, with the start in Lisbon, Portugal.
"It's going to be a demanding Vuelta. We're happy with the race we had in 2023, but that forces us to continue coming up with new ideas to make the race at least as hard," Guillén told Marca, who revealed some details of the route.
The USA's Sepp Kuss emerged as the overall winner in 2023 as Jumbo-Visma dominated the race and the team struggled to decide who was the protected leader and who was to finish on the top step of the podium. Jonas Vingegaard eventually finished second, with Primož Roglič third.
Lisbon hosted the first international start in 1997 but 2024 will be the second start for the Vuelta outside of Spain in three years, after it began in Utrecht in the Netherlands in 2022. Guillén is hoping for more lucrative international starts, even if the UCI is trying to reduce the length of transfers and the sport's environmental footprint.
The opening stage will start in the Portuguese capital and end in Oeiras, while two other stages take the race north to Ourém and then Castello Branco.
The Vuelta is expected to visit the northern region of Galicia above Portugal, with a time trial in the region a possibility. The key mountain stages could include a finish atop Picón Blanco in the Burgos region of northern Spain, with Marca suggesting both the Lagos de Covadonga and Cuitu Negru climbs will be included in key late stages in the Asturias area. The 2024 Vuelta is also expected to visit the Extremadura, Andalusia and La Rioja regions during the 21 days of racing.
Kuss is expected to return to defend his title, with Spaniard Enric Mas (Moviatar, Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep), Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Carlos Rodíguez (Ineos Grenadiers) expected to ride.
Cyclingnews will have full coverage of the 2024 Vuelta a España presentation on Tuesday, with route analysis, reaction, maps and stage profiles.
