No Madrid, but Santiago de Compostela. The Spanish cycling race La Vuelta a España does not finishes in Spain’s capital as usual, but has its finish on the Praza de Obradoiro, the main square of Santiago in front of the cathedral. Besides this last stage, the race has two more stages in Galicia. A promise of beautiful images!
La Vuelta and finishing in Santiago de Compostela
You probably know the Tour de France yearly finishes at the Champs d’elyssees in Paris. The Spanish La Vuelta has a similar tradition in finishing in Madrid. But not this year! The race finishes in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia’s capital. The last race also not is a traditional gala performance ending in a mass sprint. In Santiago the racers have to work hard in an individual time trial. Santiago de Compostela is selected as end of the race in honour of the holy year, the Xacobeo of 2021.
It’s not the first time Santiago is the finish of La Vuelta. Also in 2014 the finish was on the Praza de Obradoiro in front of the cathedral. That year it was 21 years since La Vuelta did not finish in Madrid.
In 2014 the racers first completed two mountain stages in La Ribeira Sacra. The last stage was an individual time trail, just like it will be this year. The Italian racer Adriano Molari won the time trial and Spanish Alberto Contador was crowned winner of La Vuelta a España in 2014.
Last year, in 2020, La Vuelta also crossed Galicia. The race visited Ourense, among others. This resulted in beautiful pictures of the city, its surroundings and off course the thermal springs.
Vuelta stage 19 – a breakaway in Galicia?
Friday Septembre 3th the races will enter Galicia. This will happen during stage 19. The start of the race is in the coastal village Tapia de Casariego. A village in neighbouring province Asturias. Halfway through the stage the cyclists will enter Galicia. The stage finishes at Monforte de Lemos, in the province of Lugo.
This day is a mid-mountain stage and will be marked by many cyclists as a possible day to have a breakaway. Could get exiting!
Vuelta stage 20 – Rias Baixas
The penultimate stage of La Vuelta starts in the coastal town of Sanxenxo. During 173 kilometres the races will pass through Las Rias Baixas. After the start they will go south till the Portugese border. Via some small climbs the stage finishes near by Vigo. The finish is on a small climb at the viewpoint Castro de Hervill in the village of Mos.
This stage promises to be entertaining for the audience. The course is somewhat of a so-called ‘classical’, like the famous race of Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Vuelta stage 21 – timetrail Padrón to Santiago de Compostela
La Vuelta’s final stage is a time trail with start in Padrón and finish in Santiago de Compostela. Remarkable detail: In 1933 this exact time trail was completed during La Vuelta de España. Starting place Padrón is mainly known for it’s Pimientos de Padrón. I’m curious to know who of the cyclists dares to pick one!
After leaving Padrón the races will take the road on their one to Santiago de Compostela. On their way they will pass some small climbs and during the stage the wind also can have effect. The parcours is called a technical stage and it promises to be a decisive stage for the final rankings!
For more information about the race and its stages visit the official site of La Vuelta.
I’m already looking forward to beautiful pictures of Galicia during these stages. Are you going to watch La Vuelta in Galicia?