Vuelta a España Vuelta 2025 route rumors

[fbjim]

it's a vuelta route, and it looks like one. not great, but it's better than the Remco route.

 

[houtdffan]

Christian Prudhomme is the Tour de France director, he has nothing to do with the Vuelta organization.

It was reported in another thread he is general cycling director for aso. This article from one of the sponsors also says this (maybe he has multiple roles at ASO, general cycling director and general TDF director. That's the situation I find myself in in my job)

Tissot and A.S.O celebrate their enduring association | Tissot News | Tissot® United States

Tissot and A.S.O. are proud to celebrate their enduring association on the occasion of the grand announcement event of the Tour de France 2024 route.

www.tissotwatches.com

Gouvenou is race director of tour

And both routes suck

Regardless, Jean-Etienne Amaury can make any necessary changes, or even Marie Amaury herself, like she did in 2008 at the behest of the IOC president when Clerc and Prudhomme managed to run the TDF into the ground in 2008.

Unipublic no longer exists and hasn't for more than a decade

 

[fbjim]

why would they make changes, because posters on the cyclingnews forums don't like the routes?

 

[Rob5091]

why would they make changes, because posters on the cyclingnews forums don't like the routes?

Absolutely! (otherwise, call up the lawyers for mental anguish and other personal injury by seeing the route!)

 

[E_F_]

why would they make changes, because posters on the cyclingnews forums don't like the routes?

Because it would make their race better. Which is presumably something they want.

 

[Descender]

I think someone who has enough time should re-design the route with the same start and finish locations. Maybe I may have a go at it in a few days.

I have neither the time nor the heart to do this, but take just two stages:

In the Morredero stage, instead of just ________/, do this in reverse (finish is 2025's start, stage finishes in km 47):

Or this (finish at km 150ish):

By God, you have a proper alpine HC right next to the start line, and you go through great pains NOT to use it??

In the Farrapona stage, instead of that, even if you don't want to use the recently asphalted other side of Farrapona (Farrapona-Ventana-San Lorenzo-Farrapona would fit like a glove), literally just do any of the other stages you've already done to the Farrapona, like the 2014 stage with Colladona-Cordal-Cobertoria-San Lorenzo-Farrapona. [Forum won't let me add any pictures or links for some reason].

 

[Forever The Best]

I think I may like the first one you posted most, this as the last 80 km or so (may even allow moves on Fonte da Cova) (may even do entirety of this for a 230+ km stage)

Trobaniello may also be a possibility but not sure if Vuelta wants it. And yes, new side of Farrapona is a very good option too.

The only 1st cat passes are: Toses, Canto, Brenes, Mozqueta, Cordal, San Lorenzo, A Garganta, Alto da Groba, Navacerrada and some of them are definitely not deserving of cat.1 and or/are plain useless.

 

[Descender]

I think I may like the first one you posted most, this as the last 80 km or so (may even allow moves on Fonte da Cova) (may even do entirety of this for a 230+ km stage)

Trobaniello may also be a possibility but not sure if Vuelta wants it. And yes, new side of Farrapona is a very good option too.

The only 1st cat passes are: Toses, Canto, Brenes, Mozqueta, Cordal, A Garganta, Alto da Groba, Navacerrada and some of them are definitely not deserving of cat.1 and or/are plain useless.

In modern times. which for the Vuelta I consider post-2009 which marked a step ahead in terms of route design, this might really be the weakest Vuelta in terms of mountain passes. Might be the weakest Vuelta route overall since then.

 

[Descender]

The only 1st cat passes are: Toses, Canto, Brenes, Mozqueta, Cordal, A Garganta, Alto da Groba, Navacerrada and some of them are definitely not deserving of cat.1 and or/are plain useless.

San Lorenzo too, the hardest of all and the best-placed one.

 

[yaco]

In modern times. which for the Vuelta I consider post-2009 which marked a step ahead in terms of route design, this might really be the weakest Vuelta in terms of mountain passes. Might be the weakest Vuelta route overall since then.

Do you think this is a weaker route than when Remco won in 2022? It's a typical Vuelta route which usually leads to exciting racing.

 

[Lequack]

Do you recognize these friendly faces?

 

[Tim Cahill]

'What we need is a route that no sprinters will go to so a B tier one can absolutely clean up the few we have'

Route is absolutely primed for another Kaden Groves special, 5 stages.

Only the Venezuelan rocket Orluis Aular can stop his dominance, I for one cannot wait.

 

[Cookster15]

I will follow it too.

Thank you to @Devil's Elbow for his stage by stage opinion which I will use to judge.

Stage 2 is an easy MTF but it is steepest in the final kilometers and it will reveal any GC contenders not capable of being competitive by Madrid.

Stages 6 and 7 in Andorra could be harder than they look. @Devil's Elbow describes these as "Middling unipuerto(ish) MTFs". I'm glad we added "ish" as there are some decent lumps in the middle of those stages and at altitude.

The TTT on stage 5 is meh and what is so bad about Bola del Mundo on stage 20? Stage 20 incidently might be the queen stage you are looking for except its a bit short.

There is no opening week full of sprinters stages like the Tours of yesteryear. It could be much worse.

Its the Vuelta well known for unipuerto MTFs and it will likely be hot. So I am surprised to read all this whinging and negative hyperbole from seasoned posters. I get that there isn't a clear Queen stage but it will still be an interesting race. Its the riders that make a race not the route and we usually find something to complain about in any route.

My $0.02.

 

[Forever The Best]

San Lorenzo too, the hardest of all and the best-placed one.

Yeah forgot to write that. And I agree (and it may even be ESP, in terms of hardness).

2016 was pretty awful too to be fair, but I'd say this one is even worse. Oh and I also really disliked 2018. Oh, and 2022 may be the worst before this year actually, especially with the change in Sierra Nevada stage IIRC.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Stage 1: good stage for the favourites to snap their collarbone
Stage 2; mountain sprint
Stage 3: bad day to be alpecin domestic
Stage 4: bad day to be alpecin domestiques again
Stage 5: Mickey mouse
Stage 6: mountain sprint
Stage 7: let's all wait for the last 2km again
STage 8: average speed 33kph
Stage 9: how about another mountain sprint but even easier

 

[Netserk]

I will follow it too.

Thank you to @Devil's Elbow for his stage by stage opinion which I will use to judge.

Stage 2 is an easy MTF but it is steepest in the final kilometers and it will reveal any GC contenders not capable of being competitive by Madrid.

Stages 6 and 7 in Andorra could be harder than they look. @Devil's Elbow describes these as "Middling unipuerto(ish) MTFs". I'm glad we added "ish" as there are some decent lumps in the middle of those stages and at altitude.

The TTT on stage 5 is meh and what is so bad about Bola del Mundo on stage 20? Stage 20 incidently might be the queen stage you are looking for except its a bit short.

There is no a full opening week of sprinters stages like the Tours of yesteryear. It could be much worse.

Its the Vuelta well known for unipuerto MTFs and it will likely be hot. So I am surprised to read all this whinging and negative hyperbole from seasoned posters. I get that there isn't a clear Queen stage but it will still be an interesting race. Its the riders that make a race not the route and we usually find something to complain about in any route.

My $0.02.

A different way to phrase it: Which GT route do you think has been clearly worse than this one?

Maybe all routes are fantastic, and this is merely the least fantastic one, but it's still rather telling if it's the worst one in recent years, no?

 

[Wyndbrook]

Do you recognize these friendly faces?

Youngsters.

 

[zlev11]

the 2022 route was much worse than this. it still isn't good, but who even expects good routes anymore? especially when the race is trying to attract Pogacar as his non-TDF grand tour for the year.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Last year i feel that the route was a bit harder. I do like the inclusion of Angliru.

P.S. Anyway, if Rogla decides to jump in, then in my opinion the route is rather suited for No.5!

 

[gregrowlerson]

Of all the Grand Tour routes I have seen, I can say that this is one of them.

Thought of you when I read the cycling news article on the route and their description of the team time trial as a "firm fan favourite".

And the 26 km individual time trial as "long". Unfortunately I'm not kidding.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Thought of you when I read the cycling news article on the route and their description of the team time trial as a "firm fan favourite".

And the 26 km individual time trial as "long". Unfortunately I'm not kidding.

Maybe they were thinking of that ttt they did in the dark a few years back, which was of course an instant classic.

 

[Cookster15]

A different way to phrase it: Which GT route do you think has been clearly worse than this one?

Maybe all routes are fantastic, and this is merely the least fantastic one, but it's still rather telling if it's the worst one in recent years, no?

2012 Tour. How about you guys spell out why this Vuelta route is so bad? I am sure this Vuelta isn’t great but as I said the riders usually determine how exciting grand tours end up.

I have no problem people complaining but at least explain yourselves? Okay so it’s the worst one in recent years - why?

 

[Rob5091]

It's going to rock! (apparently) As one of the 5 things that are going to rock, is maybe Pogi will be there (and there's a TTT), I'm not sure in what sense it will rock. Maybe like a boat that rocks before it goes under or it will have all the excitment of watching a rock for hours on end. Who knows, maybe it'll be the best thing since sliced bread, but as it's all subjective, make your own mind up!
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...asons-why-the-2025-vuelta-a-espana-will-rock/

 

[Devil's Elbow]

what is so bad about Bola del Mundo on stage 20?

Very hard to attack before the super-steep final 3 kilometres, so very little opportunity to roll the dice. If the red jersey has even a minute going into that stage, he is as good as safe.

 

[YavorD]

I have no problem people complaining but at least explain yourselves? Okay so it’s the worst one in recent years - why?

Very few really good stages. A lot of ____/ kind of stages. And while this is typical for the Vuelta, at least most of the time they finish on some ramps that provide action. Next year we've got a lot of overrated C1 MTF's where it's very hard to build a gap so a mountain sprint like Prati di Tivo or Grand Colombier is very possible.
Non of the mountain stages is really good, first 3 5 stages are awful given the possibilities. The best hilly stage os stage 11 which is very similar to stage 1 of last year's Tour. And while this stage was good, I don't think is more than 6 or 7.
Not enough ITT and on top of that literally at the end of the race with only one GC stage afterwards, which on itself is the worst type of a GC stage.
And stage 20 ends on Bola del Mundo. And even though I like Bola del Mundo, hat's probably one of the worst ways to finish a GT. We could probably let them off with this one as usually stage 20 in the Vuelta is great.
I think that's pretty much covers what most of the people think about this route.


And as for "riders make the race" there's usually a reason why (real)Mortirolo-Aprica and Finestre-Sestriere are most of the time great stages and why f.e. Grand Colombier isn't. And that's NOT the riders' mood. A
s important as the riders are stage design is equally or even more important as for example if stage 19 in the Giro 2019 finished on Finestre or didn't have Finestre but only Sestriere before the MTF we wouldn't talk about this stage as all time classic and Tom Dumoulin would have likely won that Giro.
And the Vuelta doesn't have a single one particularly good stage design.