Route presentation: Vuelta a Espana 2026 - The toughest route of all time?

The race starts on 22 August 2026 in front of the casino in Monaco. The 84th edition of the Tour of Spain begins with a 9-kilometre battle against the clock in the Principality with a foreign start. The finish will take place where the finish line of the Formula One circuit is located. "This will be something special," said Prince Albert of Monaco at the route presentation. From Monaco, the route leads through France on stages two and three, where there will be a mountain finish in Font Romeu (1937 metres) in the Pyrenees on the third day of the race. The following day, a big challenge awaits around Andorra with a short but very difficult 104-kilometre stage that includes a climb over the highest Pyrenean pass, Port d'Envelira (2408 metres). While the race in 2025 was mainly held in the northern half of Spain, this time around, locations in the east and south will be favoured. Legendary climbs such as the Angliru or the ride to the Lagos de Covadonga are not part of the 2026 route.

A total of seven mountain finishes

A total of seven mountain finishes await the professional cyclists. The climb to Font Romeu is followed by the final ascent to Aramon Valdelinares (7th stage), Alto de Aitana (9th), Calar Alto (12th), Sierra de la Pandera (14th), the Penas Blancas (19th) and the Collado del Agualcil (20th). The queen stage is not on the programme until the penultimate day of the race. It will then cover around 5000 metres in altitude and finally 8.3 kilometres with an average gradient of 9.8 percent to the finish at the Collado del Agualcil. The final stage will probably not be a lap of honour, as has usually been the case in recent years on the flat routes in the capital Madrid. On 13 September 2026, the final stage around the Alhambra in Granada will feature a sawtooth profile, which, like the new, demanding final stage of the Tour France in Paris, could well result in time gaps.

With gravel track

There is a gravel section on stage 6, namely up El Bartolo. A new feature is the Collado del Agualcil climb with gradients of up to 20 per cent, at the end of which the next overall Vuelta winner will be decided. According to the organisers, the professional cyclists have to climb a total of 58,000 metres in altitude, which led to voices being raised at the presentation that this could be the toughest Vuelta ever. "It's a very tough course! The mountains will play a major role in one of the toughest editions in the history of the Vuelta," emphasised route planner Fernando Escartin.

Will Roglic take the fifth victory?

There are expected to be 23 teams at the start. In addition to the 18 racing teams with a World Tour licence, the three best Pro Conti teams from the past season will also qualify. In addition, race organiser Unipublic, which belongs to the same group as the Tour de France organiser, can invite further teams via wildcard. The current upper limit for the field of participants is 23 racing teams with eight riders each. At the turn of the year, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who could become the sole record holder with a possible fifth overall victory, and the runner-up of the 2025 edition, the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), are planning to start at the Tour of Spain (as of the end of 2025). The organisers around race director Javier Guillen are also hoping for a start from Tadej Pogacar, who has only competed in the race once so far at the start of his career in 2019 and finished third on that occasion. Guillen sees it as a special invitation that the race will start in Pogacar's home town of Monaco.

From Monaco to the Alhambra

The 21 stages at a glance

22/08/2026 | Stage 1: Monaco - Monaco, 9.0 km (EZF)

23/08/2026 | 2nd stage: Monaco - Manosque, 216.0 km

24/08/2026 | 3rd stage: Gruissan - Font Romeu, 166.0 km

25/08/2026 | 4th stage: Andorra-La Vella - Andorra-La Vella, 104.0 km

26.08.2026 | 5th stage: Falset - Roquettes, 171.0 km

27.08.2026 | Stage 6: Alcossebre - Castello, 176.0 km

28/08/2026 | 7th stage: Vall d'Alba - Aramon Valdelinares, 149.0 km

29.08.2026 | 8th stage: Pucol - Xeraco, 176.4 km

30.08.2026 | 9th stage: La Vila Joiosa - Alto de Aitana, 187.5 km

01.09.2026 | 10th stage: Alcaraz - Elche de la Sierra, 184.5 km

02.09.2026 | Stage 11: Cartagena - Lorca, 156.0 km

03/09/2026 | 12th stage: Vera - Calar Alto, 166.0 km

04.09.2026 | 13th stage: Almunecar - Loja, 193.2 km

05.09.2026 | 14th stage: Jaen - Sierra de la Pandera, 152.7 km

06.09.2026 | 15th stage: Palma del Rio - Cordoba, 181.2 km

08.09.2026 | 16th stage: Cortegana - La Rabida, 186.0 km

09.09.2026 | 17th stage: Dos Hermanas - Seville, 189.0 km

10.09.2026 | 18th stage: El Puerto de Santa Maria - Jerez de la Frontera, 32.0 km (EZF)

11.09.2026 | 19th stage: Velez-Malaga - Penas Blancas, 205.1 km

12.09.2026 | 20th stage: La Calahorra - Collado del Alguacil, 187.0 km

13.09.2026 | 21st stage: Granada - Granada, 99.0 km