The Dutch city Utrecht was set to host the Gran Salida of the 2020 Vuelta a España, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Big Start was replaced to the Basque Country. Possibly, the Netherlands will now see the Spanish Grand Tour in 2022. (Slideshow route/profile)
If so, the 1st stage is likely to be a TTT in front of roaring city crowds before two flat stages – one from ‘s Hertogenbosch to Utrecht, the other an out-and-back race in Breda.
The Vuelta a España used to be the least geographically adventurous of the three Grand Tours. The race ventured outside Spain for a start for the first time to neighbouring Portugal in 1997. Drenthe, the Netherlands, hosted the second foreign Gran Salida in 2009 and the third and last foreign start was in 2017 in Nîmes, France.
Click on the links in underneath scheme for in-depth information on the individual stages.
Vuelta a España 2022 stages:
| date | route | km | type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12-8 | Vuelta 2022 route stage 1 Utrecht – Utrecht | 23.2 | TTT |
| 2 | 13-8 | Vuelta 2022 route stage 2 ‘s Hertogenbosch – Utrecht | 181.6 | flat |
| 3 | 14-8 | Vuelta 2022 route stage 3 Breda – Breda | 193.2 | flat |
Vuelta a España 2022: route, profiles, more
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