Vuelta a España 2025: Preview stage 20: Queen's stage to the Bola del Mundo

The most important information about the 20th stage of the Vuelta a España 2025

• Saturday, 13 September: Robledo de Chavela - Bola del Mundo. Puerto de Navacerrada
• Length: 165.6 kilometres (mountainous)
• Altitude metres: 4226
• Sharp start: 13:10
• Arrival at the finish: ~17:17-17:44
• TV broadcast: from 15:30 Eurosport 1
• Live stream: Discovery Plus (fee required)
• All stages of the Vuelta a España 2025 at a glance
• The start list
• To the Vuelta live ticker

Route of the 20th stage of the Tour of Spain 2025

The penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España 2025 could be the toughest of the entire race. From Robledo de Chavela, the 165.6-kilometre route leads over several challenging climbs up to the infamous Bola del Mundo in the Guadarrama Mountains. The climbing begins shortly after the start in Robledo de Chavela. First, the riders have to tackle the Alto de la Escondida, a 9-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 4.1 per cent. This is followed by the Puerto de la Paradilla with 5.8 kilometres and a gradient of 5.4 per cent. The Alto del León, which is crossed at kilometre 59, presents a further challenge with 7 kilometres at a gradient of 7.3 per cent.

After a quieter phase of around 50 kilometres, the riders reach the foot of the Puerto de Navacerrada. The first climb to Navacerrada is 6.9 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 7.6 per cent. At the summit, there are still around 50 kilometres to the finish, around half of which is downhill. At the foot of the mountain, the road begins to climb again, this time to the second ascent of the Navacerrada. This is tackled from a different side and results in a 9.1 kilometre climb with an average gradient of 7.3 per cent.

The Bola del Mundo ultimately offers a brutal finale. The last 3.2 kilometres climb at 12.2 per cent, but if you include the Puerto de Navacerrada, the entire final climb measures 12.3 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.6 per cent. The combination of the length of the climb, the steep ramps and its position at the end of an already demanding stage makes this final climb one of the toughest challenges of the entire Vuelta.

Sporting assessment of the 20th stage of the Vuelta a España 2025

For the classification riders, the queen stage is the last chance to make up or defend time. At the same time, the stage also offers mountain specialists from an escape group a small chance. If the overall classification is already largely decided, teams without podium ambitions could try to get a rider into the breakaway group. The extreme gradients in the finale favour light climbers with explosive power, who can make the difference on the steepest ramps. However, it can be assumed that the riders in the overall classification will want to make a decision here, which is why it will be extremely difficult for breakaways.