It’s set to be a Vuelta of firsts, with a variety of new locations on the schedule. Over its 21 stages, it will feature 12 new depart locations and 11 unprecedented finish-lines, and, for the first time in its history, will cover all eight Andalusian provinces. There will be nine high-altitude finales, five of which are new to La Vuelta, two time trials, seven mountain stages, four mid-mountain stages, six flat stages and two flat stages with high-altitude finales.
The women's race, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, will be expanded in 2022, with the event's finish to coincide with the men's race end in Madrid.
The men's Spanish Grand Tour will take off from abroad for the fourth time in its history. The peloton will begin its journey in the Netherlands for the second time in Vuelta history, having celebrated its official departure from Assen in 2009. On this occasion, Utrecht‘s Hertogenbosch and Breda will be the cities featured in the race’s first three stages.
Following a rest day to allow everyone to return to Spain, the race will resume in Basque country in the north of Spain. The enthusiastic Basque fans will gather along the roads to watch the peloton ride past as it comes in from Álava and heads towards Guipuzkoa, ending its journey through the Basque country with a departure and a finish-line in Bilbao. It will be the first time since 2012 that La Vuelta visits all three Basque provinces.
The route will continue through Cantabria with the first-time appearance of the climb of Pico Jano, before crossing over to Asturias, with two summit finishes: a new one (Colláu Fancuaya), and a well-known one (Les Praeres).
The second week of the competition will begin in the Province of Alicante, which will host an individual time trial more than 30 kilometres long. Then, the peloton will continue to advance towards the Region of Murcia and Andalusia, where a new race milestone will take place. It will be the first time in 87 years that the race visits all eight Andalusian provinces. Andalusia will also offer a formidable collection of climbs: Peñas Blancas, La Pandera and Sierra Nevada.
The last week is sure to provoke strong emotions. First, in Extremadura, with two unprecedented high-altitude finales, before arriving in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The second-last stage is very reminiscent of the one in La Vuelta 2015 were Fabio Aru took La Roja from Tom Dumoulin. After finishing last year in Santiago de Compostela, the race will recover its traditional final circuit along the Madrid main arteries.
