The Vuelta a España was a Grand Tour for climbers. Primoz Roglic, Miguel Ángel López, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde were among the pre-race favourites, while Roglic came out on top. Sam Bennett and Fabio Jakobsen were the fastest sprinters. Young Tadej Pogacar won three mountain stages.
Read about the pre-race favourites or click on the links in the table below for the favourites to win individual stages. Obviously, all these articles were written before the start of the race(s).
La Vuelta 2019: favourites per stage
| date | favourites | km | type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sa 24-8 | TTT with red lining | 13.4 | TTT |
| 2 | su 25-8 | Versatile ride to Calpe | 199.6 | hills |
| 3 | mo 26-8 | Sprinters or daredevil attackers | 188 | hills |
| 4 | tu 27-8 | For pure sprinters | 175.5 | flat |
| 5 | we 28-8 | Mountain goat on steep last climb | 170.7 | mountains |
| 6 | th 29-8 | Breakaway day | 198.9 | hills |
| 7 | fr 30-8 | GC battle on finishing Wall | 183.3 | mountains |
| 8 | sa 31-8 | Sprinters or (late) attackers | 166.9 | hills |
| 9 | su 1-9 | Short thriller in the Pyrenees | 94.4 | mountains |
| mo 2-9 | rest day in Pau | |||
| 10 | tu 3-9 | Roglic’ chance | 36.2 | ITT |
| 11 | we 4-9 | Sprint of brave attackers | 180,0 | hills |
| 12 | th 5-9 | Punchers with strong descent | 171.4 | hills |
| 13 | fr 6-9 | Monster race with brutal finale | 166.4 | mountains |
| 14 | sa 7-9 | Back to the fast men | 188.0 | flat |
| 15 | su 8-9 | Steep and irregular ascents | 154.4 | mountains |
| 16 | mo 9-9 | Finish for diesel-powered climbers | 144.4 | mountains |
| tu 10-9 | rest day in Burgos | |||
| 17 | we 11-9 | Fast men in longest race | 219.6 | flat |
| 18 | th 12-9 | Attackers in medium mountains | 177.5 | mountains |
| 19 | fr 13-9 | Cunning sprinters in technical finale | 165.2 | flat |
| 20 | sa 14-9 | Attacks on all fronts | 190.4 | mountains |
| 21 | su 15-9 | Madrilenean sprint fiesta | 106.6 | flat |
