Nicola Rutzou
The third and final grand tour of the year covers the usual 21 stages and will traverse four countries – Italy, Andorra, France, and Spain – in this edition. From 23 August to 14 September, the 180 riders from 23 teams will cover 3,138km of racing with ten summit finishes, showcasing the big climbs of Angliru and La Bola del Mundo (2,258m altitude).
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the race will begin in Turino, Italy, then pass through France and Andorra, to conclude three weeks later in Madrid, Spain. Along the way, the riders will experience a variety of stages, including:
- 4 flat stages (1 with a high-altitude finale)
- 6 medium mountain stages
- 5 mountain stages
- 1 team time trial stage
- 1 individual time trial stage
- 3 hilly stages with high-altitude finales
- 2 rest days.
Key stages
Anything can happen in a bike race, so every stage is important and can impact the outcome, but these are some of the stages we think will be significant in this year’s race.
Stage 5 – Team time trial, Figueres (24.1km)
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a TTT in a grand tour (the last one was in the 2022 Vuelta), and this 24.1km will put the GC riders’ teams to the test and could open up decisive gaps.
Stage 6 – Summit finish, Pal (Andorra)
A challenging day in the Pyrenees that should suit pure climbers. It is the first major mountain stage of the 2025 race, and takes the riders from Spain into Andorra for a summit finish.
Stage 13 – L’Angliru
This stage features two Category 1 climbs and the iconic HC L’Angliru, with brutal gradients capable of shattering the General classification. Last time the race visited this climb, Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line in second alongside teammate Primož Roglič, so the Dane will undoubtedly aim to seal the victory this time around.
Stage 14 – Summit finish, La Farrapona
Stage 14 is a 136km mountain stage ending atop Alto de la Farrapona. After the warm-up of the Alto de Tenebreo, the riders tackle the steep Puerto de San Lorenzo before the decisive 16km summit finish. After the punishing ascent of L’Angliru on the previous stage, this one offers another brutal test for fatigue and climbing legs.
Stage 20 – Summit finish, Bola del Mundo
The final mountain stage features five categorised climbs before a punishing summit finish could be the decider before the finale in Madrid. However, if Jonas Vingegaard is in good form, it’s possible that the fight for the red jersey could be an afterthought, and the focus will be on a stage win.
Major protagonists
Dane Jonas Vingegaard is the favourite, particularly because defending champion Primož Roglič has decided to go for his fifth La Vuelta win, and his countryman Tadej Pogačar announced his non-participation shortly after the Tour de France.
Other contenders in the spotlight are João Almeida, Juan Ayuso and our own Ben O’Connor. O’Connor is the only podium-finisher from last year’s race to make this year’s start. Almeida and Ayuso are both part of the UAE Team Emirates outfit, which gives the team several GC options. A few others that are worth a mention are Australian Jai Hindley of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who will be his team’s main GC hope in the absence of Roglič, Tom Pidcock of Q36.5, Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek, and Derek Gee of Israel Premier Tech.
Aussie riders
As mentioned above, we go into this race with two Aussie GC contenders in O’Connor and Hindley. Plus, Jay Vine, the defending champion for the polka dot climber’s jersey, will be there to support his dual leaders, Almeida and Ayuso, for the always strong UAE Team Emirates team.
This year’s race includes 11 Aussies in total on the start line representing eight teams, including:
- Jai Hindley Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe
- Ben O’Connor Team Jayco AlUla
- Jay Vine UAE Team Emirates – XRG
- Kelland O’Brien Team Jayco AlUla
- Chris Harper Team Jayco AlUla
- Jack Haig Bahrain – Victorious
- Damien Howson Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Chris Hamilton Team Picnic PostNL
- Patrick Eddy Team Picnic PostNL
- Callum Scotson Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
- Lucas Hamilton INEOS Grenadiers
All stages
| Date | Stage | km |
| 23/08 | Stage 1 | Torino – Reggia di Venaria – Novara | 200 |
| 24/08 | Stage 2 | Alba – Puerto Limone | 157 |
| 25/08 | Stage 3 | San Maurizio Canavese – Ceres | 139 |
| 26/08 | Stage 4 | Susa – Voiron | 192 |
| 27/08 | Stage 5 (TTT) | Figueres – Figueres | 20 |
| 28/08 | Stage 6 | Olot – Pal | 170 |
| 29/08 | Stage 7 | Andorra la Vella – Cerler. Huesca La Magia | 187 |
| 30/08 | Stage 8 | Monzón Templario – Zaragoza | 187 |
| 31/08 | Stage 9 | Alfaro – Estación de Esquí de Valdezcaray | 195 |
| 01/09 | Rest day | |
| 02/09 | Stage 10 | Naturaleza Sendaviva – Larra Belagua | 168 |
| 03/09 | Stage 11 | Bilbao – Bilbao | 167 |
| 04/09 | Stage 12 | Laredo – Los Corrales de Buelna | 143 |
| 05/09 | Stage 13 | Cabezón de la Sal – L’Angliru | 202 |
| 06/09 | Stage 14 | Avilés – Alto de la Farrapona | 135 |
| 07/09 | Stage 15 | A Veiga/Vegadeo – Monforte de Lemos | 167 |
| 08/09 | Rest day | |
| 09/09 | Stage 16 | Poio – Mos.Castro de Herville | 172 |
| 10/09 | Stage 17 | Valdeorras – Alto de El Morredero | 137 |
| 11/09 | Stage 18 (ITT) | Valladolid – Valladolid | 26 |
| 12/09 | Stage 19 | Rueda – Guijuelo | 159 |
| 13/09 | Stage 20 | Chavela – Puerto de Navacerrada | 156 |
| 14/09 | Stage 21 | Alalpardo – Madrid | 101 |
