Pre-Race Cheat Sheet: La Vuelta a España 2023
Breaking down all the need-to-know information as we head into the last, and best, three-week race of the season
Pre-Vuelta BTP Podcast: My BTP co-host Andrew Vontz and I invited Riding With’s Jonathan Kaplan on to make sense of the major storylines at the upcoming Vuelta a España. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts are distributed.
What to watch at the 2023 Vuelta a España
The final grand tour of the 2023 season, La Vuelta a España, kicks off tomorrow in Barcelona with a tricky 14.8-kilometer team time trial, and, despite being the final three-week race on the calendar and traditionally known as the most laid-back of the sport’s major three stage races, it is quickly shaping up to be one of the most exciting and competitive grand tours in recent seasons (Premium BTP subscribers will be getting daily stage breakdowns).
Defending champion Remco Evenepoel will face off against Primož Roglič, in pursuit of a record-tying fourth Vuelta overall win, who will be jockeying for leadership of his Jumbo-Visma team with two-time Tour de France winner, and hands-down the best grand tour rider in the sport, Jonas Vingegaard, while Geraint Thomas, Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso, João Almeida will attempt to leverage the superstar pre-race favorites marking one another too closely to slip away and win in a fashion similar to how Richard Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d’Italia by stacking time gains while Vincenzo Nibali and Roglič sat in each other’s wheels.
Combined with the stacked startlist, the difficult parcours have the potential to make this one of the best grand tours of the season. Details like the inclusion of all of the French Pyrenees’ toughest terrain, including the Col d'Aubisque and Col du Tourmalet on stage 11, a relatively light 25 kilometers of individual time trial kilometers, an opening day urban team time trial in Barcelona, and just a few handful of easy stages, should create consistently aggressive racing and produce plenty of chances for contenders willing to take risks to take time on the major favorites.
One major dynamic is how Evenepoel’s relatively weak Soudal–Quick-Step team will handle the extremely strong Jumbo and UAE teams. With both superteams having multiple options for the GC, Evenepoel could find himself in a tough spot if he finds himself clear with Vinegaard/Roglič/Kuss and Almeida/Ayuso/Vine late on difficult mountain stages, and both Jumbo and UAE can get potential GC riders up the road together (a Kuss/Vine pairing could be potentially tricky for Evenepoel since neither UAE nor Jumbo is likely to chase this down while Evenepoel will be concerned about spotting such strong riders any ‘free’ time).
With Evenepoel appearing visibly frustrated with Roglič’s savvy racing tactics at the Volta Catalunya earlier in 2023 (where he lost to Roglič in the GC) and publicly feuding with his QuickStep team management in the run-up to the race, it isn’t difficult to imagine tempers flaring inside the team bus, or even out on the road, if Evenepoel is consistently isolated and forced to personally close down every attack from every one of his numerous GC rivals.
2023 Vuelta a España Route Details
2023 Vuelta a España Stage Overview
Stage 1: Barcelona > Barcelona (14.6km)-TTT
Stage 2: Mataró > Barcelona (181.3km)-hills w/uphill sprint
Stage 3: Sùria > Arinsal (158.8km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 4: Andorra la Vella > Tarrangona (183.4km)-hills
Stage 5: Morella > Burriana (185.7km)-hills
Stage 6: La Valle d’Uixó > Javalambre (181.3km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 7: Utiel > Oliva (188.8km)-flat
Stage 8: Dénia > Xorret Catí (164.8km)-mountains
Stage 9: Cartagena > Caravaca de la Cruz (180.9km)-mountain w/summit finish
Rest Day #1: September 4th
Stage 10: Valladolid > Valladolid (25.0km)-ITT
Stage 11: Lerma > Laguna Negra (163.2kms)-mountain w/summit finish
Stage 12: Ólvega > Zaragoza (165.4kms)-flat
Stage 13: Formigal > Tourmalet (134.7km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 14: Sauveterre-de-Béarn > Larra Belagua (161.7km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 15: Pamplona > Lekunberri (156.5km)-hills
Rest Day #2: September 11th
Stage 16: Liencres > Bejes (119.7km)-mountain w/summit finish
Stage 17: Ribadesella > Angliru (122.6km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 18: Pola de Allande > La Cruz de Linares (178.9km)-mountains w/summit finish
Stage 19: La Bañeza > Íscar (177.4km)-flat
Stage 20: Manzanares el Real > Guadarrama (208.4km)-hills
Stage 21: Hipódromo de la Zarzuela > Madrid (101km)-flat
Breakdown by Stage Type:
10 Mountain Stages
9 Summit Finishes
4 Flat Stages
5 Hilly Stages
1 uphill finishes
2 Time Trials
1 Team Time Trial
14.6-kilometers
1 Individual Time Trial
25-kilometers
To get my key takeaways on the route, see my previous post below:
Race Prediction: Even with the presence of Jumbo’s top rider, Vingegaard, and the race’s defending champion, Evenepoel, I think it will be difficult for anyone to top Primož Roglič, who has won every stage race he has entered so far in 2023, even winning the Giro despite struggling after multiple hard crashes. The combination of a perfect training build-up and multiple uphill finishes where he can rack up valuable time bonuses should mean that he is Jumbo’s best chance at completing their 2023 grand tour sweep.
For a more in-depth betting-specific preview and breakdown, listen to my OŪTCOMES podcast with Johan Bruyneel (if you sign up for a WEDŪ Membership and email me the confirmation, you get a free year of premium BTP access).
Where/How to Watch:
How to Watch:
Free: Tiz Cycling (Enter at your own risk)
Paid: Peacock (USA), GCN Racepass (Global)
When to Watch: August 26th-September 17th
Stage 1: 12:40pm-2:40pm EST
Stages 2-21: 8:50am-11:30am EST (estimate)