Vuelta a España 2023 Vuelta a España route rumours

[Netserk]

Apparently this is rumored.

Yes, it was mentioned in the OP and has been discussed already then?

 

[ice&fire]

That stage would be much-improved by finishing in the town of Isaba, which is the municipality they finish in anyway. It's at the lowest point between Laza and Belagua. Still, if it comes late enough in the race it could work really well.

Another option is Tapla, easier than Belagua, but closer to Larrau. I think this would be the closest to the highly praised Mortirolo-Aprica.

 

[ice&fire]

It was a rumour, now it's in the news. The town of Pego plans to bid for a stage finish at Alto del Miserat. LS posted a profile here.

Alicante Plaza - Noticias de última hora y actualidad

Alicante Plaza - Noticias de última hora y actualidad

alicanteplaza.es

 

[ice&fire]

Leon will host the start of a mountain stage with finish in Asturias. The news says that it will be the day before Angliru at the end of the second week or the start of the third week. So, if Angliru is a given, it won't be on the final weekend.

La Vuelta 2023 abre la puerta a León

Sería inicio de etapa en una localidad con final en Asturias y en la jornada previa al Angliru

www.diariodeleon.es

 

[Devil's Elbow]

So if the rumours we have so far are correct, the most logical order (after Barcelona > Andorra > Valencia in week 1) would be the rumoured Valladolid TT in the second midweek, the Asturian mountain stages on the third weekend, then heading east for the big finale with the Navarrese mountain stages. If so, this is shaping up to be a good route.

The only alternative would be transfer to Navarra to start the second week, no Valladolid TT (at least not in the second week), Asturian mountain stages in the third weekend or in the same spot as 2020, but then the big finale would almost have to be in either Galicia or the Sistema Central. Those two have had the previous four final mountain stages between them already and aren't rumoured at all, which are good reasons why this seems the less likely order to me.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

The other bit of news is that the Lekunberri stage will start from Pamplona like in 2020, with the Belagua stage starting in France for as far as that wasn't clear yet.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Vuelta delivering so far on route rumors, 2/3 GT’s look solid based on rumors.

 

[ice&fire]

The race will be in the province of Valencia on the 1st of September (stage 7). This is in line with the rumours that after Andorra (stage 3) the race will go South for a mountain stage in Alicante before the first rest day.

La Vuelta a España regresará en 2023 a las carreteras valencianas

La Vuelta a España volverá a recorrer las carreteras valencianas en 2023 con una etapa prevista para el 1 de septiembre tras el paréntesis de la edición de este año,

www.mundodeportivo.com

 

[Kyllingen86]

When is the official presentation? December?

 

[ice&fire]

When is the official presentation? December?

I haven't seen a presentation date announced yet.

Stage 3 will finish in Andorra la Vella downtown after Comella and Beixalis.

La Vuelta a España vuelve a Andorra

Hace muchos meses que sabemos que La Vuelta España 2023 partirá de Barcelona. La primera etapa será una contrarreloj por equipos por sus calles, mientras que de la

www.lavanguardia.com

Not in the link above:
There are rumours of some climbing before they get to Andorra on the area around Coll de Jou/Port del Comte/Coll de Port and Coll de La Trava.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

That implies there will be at least one MTF on the way down from Andorra to Alicante, presumably north of Valencia but not in Catalonia. Options seen in previous editions, in decreasing order of difficulty: Javalambre, Mas de la Costa, Valdelinares, Ermita Santa Lucia, Ares del Maestrat.

 

[Red Rick]

Stage 3 Andorra - does that mean the Larrau stage is super late or do they plan to go full circle

 

[ice&fire]

Stage 3 Andorra - does that mean the Larrau stage is super late or do they plan to go full circle

Stage 3 in Andorra. Then they go South and we know stage 7 is in Valencia.
After that it's all rumours. Most likely is mid 2nd week ITT in Valladolid, Asturias at the end of 2nd week. and Larrau might be week 3. If the stages in the Navarrese Pyrenees are last before the final day, the return to Madrid is 1h shorter with Larrau on Friday and Aralar on Saturday. But this is Unipublic and I should stop making sense.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Stage 3 Andorra - does that mean the Larrau stage is super late or do they plan to go full circle

Given that rumours say we're going to Valencia after Andorra and Asturias will be at the end of the second or start of the third week, it can only be at the start of the second week or the (pen)ultimate mountain stage. All depends on where the transfer on the first rest day will be to.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

All focus on the Tour route obviously, but there are also some new rumours for the Vuelta:

• Stage 4 is rumoured to finish in Tarragona, just like the last time the Vuelta left Andorra at that point in the race in 2017. Would be a sprint.
• Valladolid, previously speculated to host the TT, is likely to be on the route - negotiations with Unipublic are pretty far along. No confirmation on whether it's actually the TT.
• Irun is bidding for a stage finish, if it happens that would be right before or right after the Navarra stages depending on which way they're heading around the northern half of Spain in weeks 2 and 3. Jaizkibel and (preferably) Erlaitz would be the two obvious climbs to descend into town from.

 

[ice&fire]

According to posts on the Spanish APM forum, a local radio has announced the date of the ITT in Valladolid and it will be after the second rest day.

 

[yaco]

According to posts on the Spanish APM forum, a local radio has announced the date of the ITT in Valladolid and it will be after the second rest day.

That's unusual - The ITT is usually on stage 10 or 11 which I favour.

 

[ice&fire]

That's unusual - The ITT is usually on stage 10 or 11 which I favour.

Since 2015 they've had the ITT in the 2nd week only in 2019 and 2022.

 

[yaco]

Since 2015 they've had the ITT in the 2nd week only in 2019 and 2022.

Fair enough - I do like an ITT slap bang in the middle of a GC which allows you to be more creative with your mountain stages.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1587880445303291905

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1587880445303291905

 

[Red Rick]

Not in love with it. May hate it depending on where it falls in the route.

If the Vuelta is gonna explore the French Pyrenees I'd prefer they actually innovate in the French Basque region

 

[Devil's Elbow]

The other recent tidbits - the Valladolid TT will come immediately after a rest day and the stage start in León should be from La Baneza, in week 3 - earlier rumours stated the Asturian mountain stages would not be the final ones but if the new ones are correct, they are probably stage 17 and 18 at the earliest as Asturias before the Pyrenees seems unlikely now.

Tentative route:
Stage 1: Barcelona - Barcelona (14k TTT)
Stage 2: Province of Barcelona - Barcelona (Montjuïc)
Stage 3: Province of Barcelona - Andorra la Vella (via Comella and Beixalis)
Stage 4: Andorra - Tarragona
Stage 5: Somewhere in Province of Castellón?
Stage 6: ??
Stage 7: Somewhere in Province of Valencia
Stage 8: ??
Stage 9: Mountain stage in Province of Alicante (Miserat MTF?)
Rest day 1
Stage 10: ??
Stage 11: ??
Stage 12: ??
Stage 13: ?? - Tourmalet (could also be stage 10 with a long transfer from Alicante, or stage 14 with the rest day after stage 16)
Stage 14: Somewhere in France - Larra-Belagua (via Hourcère and Larrau)
Stage 15: Pamplona - Lekunberri (via San Miguel de Aralar)
Rest day 2
Stage 16: Valladolid (ITT)
Stage 17: La Bañeza - Angliru? (again, could also be one or, more probably, two stages later)
Stage 18: Somewhere in Asturias - Lagos de Covadonga?
Stage 19: ??
Stage 20: ??
Stage 21: should be in Madrid

 

[Red Rick]

The other recent tidbits - the Valladolid TT will come immediately after a rest day and the stage start in León should be from La Baneza, in week 3 - earlier rumours stated the Asturian mountain stages would not be the final ones but if the new ones are correct, they are probably stage 17 and 18 at the earliest as Asturias before the Pyrenees seems unlikely now.

Tentative route:
Stage 1: Barcelona - Barcelona (14k TTT)
Stage 2: Province of Barcelona - Barcelona (Montjuïc)
Stage 3: Province of Barcelona - Andorra la Vella (via Comella and Beixalis)
Stage 4: Andorra - Tarragona
Stage 5: Somewhere in Province of Castellón?
Stage 6: ??
Stage 7: Somewhere in Province of Valencia
Stage 8: ??
Stage 9: Mountain stage in Province of Alicante (Miserat MTF?)
Rest day 1
Stage 10: ??
Stage 11: ??
Stage 12: ??
Stage 13: ?? - Tourmalet (could also be stage 10 with a long transfer from Alicante, or stage 14 with the rest day after stage 16)
Stage 14: Somewhere in France - Larra-Belagua (via Hourcère and Larrau)
Stage 15: Pamplona - Lekunberri (via San Miguel de Aralar)
Rest day 2
Stage 16: Valladolid (ITT)
Stage 17: La Bañeza - Angliru? (again, could also be one or, more probably, two stages later)
Stage 18: Somewhere in Asturias - Lagos de Covadonga?
Stage 19: ??
Stage 20: ??
Stage 21: should be in Madrid

That looks like some good pacing actually

 

[Devil's Elbow]

That looks like some good pacing actually

At this point, my main concern is Unipublic finding a way to put Angliru on stage 20. If not, this route looks clearly above average.

 

[OlavEH]

This looks pretty good.

The biggest plus has to be that Catalunya is back in the Vuelta. Hopefully that means that we can have mountain stages/MTFs there in the coming years.
An early mountain stage to Andorra with a Beixallis descent finish is good. Too bad that the distance from Barcelona too long for having more than a couple of climbs.
Miserat is a okay murito finish. Hopefully there will also be a GC relevant stage between Andorra and stage 9.
The Pyrenees stage looks really good in Vuelta perspective. Tourmalet is after all a tough climb. And the Hourcere/Larrau stage could promt long range attacks.
Angliru and Covadonga is a bit boring, but both a are classics and Angliru will create big gaps.

A much better route than this year. A couple of fairly good descent finishes, which we rarely have in the Vuelta, two big MTFs and a stage where long range attacks could be an option.