Vuelta 2026 Route stage 18: El Puerto Santa María - Jerez de la Frontera

Thursday 10 September - The second individual time trial of the Vuelta takes the riders from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera. Featuring 169 metres of climbing, the 32.5-kilometre course is virtually flat.

El Puerto de Santa María lies on the Gulf of Cádiz at the mouth of the Guadalete River. Jerez de la Frontera is only around 16 kilometres away, but the riders will cover roughly twice that distance in this individual time trial.

After rolling down the start ramp, the riders negotiate a series of bends on their way out of El Puerto de Santa María before settling into the big ring for a prolonged high-speed effort. A corner in El Portal, 12.7 kilometres into the course, briefly interrupts the rhythm, but from there it is back to full gas.

The route skirts around the eastern side of Jerez de la Frontera before the riders approach the finish from the north. The finish line is on the long, arrow-straight Avenida Andalucía.

Twelve editions ago, when the race opened with a team time trial won by Movistar, the Vuelta last visited Jerez de la Frontera . For the last individual time trial in the sherry capital, however, we have to go back to 1992. That, too, was the Gran Salida of the Vuelta. Back then, Jelle Nijdam set the fastest time and claimed the first leader's jersey.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 18th stage 2026 Vuelta a España.