Five stages you shouldn’t miss in this year’s Vuelta a España

A team time trial, the Col du Tourmalet and a brutal final week will decide the winner of the red jersey

15:59, Friday 25th August 2023

George Poole

Junior Writer

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All attention should be on these five stages at the 2023 edition

Across 21 stages and 3,154.3km, the winner of the 2023 Vuelta a España will be crowned, and every single one of those stages will be broadcast live and ad-free on GCN+ (territory restrictions apply).

For some of us, the next three weeks will mean living and breathing every second of action from Spain as the Grand Tour behemoths like Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and reigning champion Remco Evenepoel seek to take the challenge to Jumbo-Visma’s current Giro d’Italia and Tour de France champions, Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard. However, we do understand that whilst it is most certainly advisable, spending every afternoon watching the action is not always possible.

As such, alongside our individual stage previews - which you can find through our Vuelta a España landing page - here are five stages that you cannot afford to miss at this year’s Vuelta a España.

Stage 1: A technical team time trial to decide the first leader of the race

Start: Barcelona
Finish: Barcelona
Distance: 14.9km
Elevation gain: 86m

Getting eight riders whipped into shape for the team time trial is no mean feat

It's become something of a tradition for the Vuelta to feature a team time trial, even as most other stage races do away with them. 2023 is no different, as the first stage of this year’s race will take the form of a test against the clock for all 22 teams lining up in Barcelona. Seeing how the GC teams fare in a team time trial is always entertaining. This time, there is a clear favourite to take the first red jersey of the race - Jumbo-Visma - while eyes will be on the likes of Soudal Quick-Step to limit their losses to the Dutch superteam.

Some riders make time trialling look like an art form, whilst others - we won’t mention the riders who spring to mind - give the impression of a duck out of water as they bend their physiques into something resembling an aerodynamic package. In a normal time trial, those who struggle against the clock are often hidden from view, as all eyes focus on those racing the win, but such anonymity is impossible in a team time trial.

Achieving a fully functioning WorldTour team is difficult at the best of times, never mind when all eight riders have to be dialled into a symbiotic effort of back-hunched, head-down, synchronised riding. It will certainly be intriguing to see how the likes of Jumbo, Quick-Step, UAE Team Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers rank up against one another.

Read more: Stage 1 preview

Stage 13: Who will follow Demi Vollering in conquering the Col du Tourmalet?

Start: Formigal, Huesca la Magia
Finish: Col du Tourmalet
Distance: 134.4km
Elevation: 4,164m

Enric Mas lost his white jersey to Egan Bernal on the Tourmalet during the 2019 Tour de France

Formigal is a place synonymous with the Vuelta a España, proving the downfall of Chris Froome’s title bid in 2016, but the same cannot be said for the Col du Tourmalet, a mountain that the Tour de France has made its own over the last century. Located in the French Pyrenees, the Tourmalet is a regular hunting ground for those looking to claim the yellow jersey but will instead put the red jersey to the test in September.

The most intriguing aspect of the Tourmalet is its rarity as a summit finish in the Grand Tours, more often than not falling in the middle of Tour de France stages. When the 2,215m-high climb has concluded stages, the racing it entails is usually blockbuster. Images of Thibaut Pinot’s heroics in the 2019 Tour de France soon come to mind, but of course, a more recent winner has emerged in the form of Demi Vollering. The SD Worx rider emerged from a shroud of mist to dethrone Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and all but seal her first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift title.

Less than two months on, the Vuelta will climb the Tourmalet’s iconic slopes and to our minds, this day looks to be the most ideal of the race for Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). The Danish climber fares best during long, difficult stages when the mountains climb to above 2,000m, with high-altitude climbs proving key to his defeats of Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France in recent years.

With a hors catégorie and category 1 climb to precede it, the Col du Tourmalet summit finish will be one of the gems of this year’s race.

Read more: Stage 13 preview

Stage 14: An opportunity for a long-range attack will follow

Start: Sauveterre-de-Béarn
Finish: Larra-Belagua
Distance: 156.2km
Elevation gain: 3,853m

Egan Bernal used a similar route to attempt a hijack in 2021

With an hors catégorie and category 1 climb falling within 50km of the finish line on stage 14, the sequel to the Col du Tourmalet showdown may well prove too irresistible to miss. Although stage 13 lends itself to a traditional battle on the final slopes, stage 14 might offer temptation to a rider who has fallen further down the GC than they would have liked.

In the face of unwelcome time losses, riders will become more desperate as the race draws on, and this may usher in a series of audacious attacks in an attempt to slingshot themselves back into podium contention.

The route for stage 14 is not all that dissimilar to stage 17 of the 2021 edition, where Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) mounted an astonishing comeback attempt having begun the day almost three minutes down on the de facto leader, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma). The Colombian attacked on the penultimate climb of the stage and went in search of glory on Lagos de Covadonga.

Whilst his move ultimately failed to stick, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar escapade from one of the GC contenders on Puerto de Larrau this time around.

Read more: Stage 14 preview

Stage 17: Will the red jersey survive the inhumane Altu de l’Angliru?

Start: Ribadesella
Finish: Altu de L'Angliru
Distance: 124.2km
Elevation gain: 3,069m

Chris Froome sealed his second Vuelta title on the Angliru in 2017

The Angliru is one of Europe’s toughest climbs, possibly only joined in the upper echelon by Italy’s Monte Zoncolan, with Spain’s answer to the ‘Vertical Maracana’ returning to the Vuelta on stage 17. This climb needs no selling, with all cycling fans aware of what the Angliru offers: pain, suffering and ecstasy - the last only reserved for one man.

For those who have won on these brutal slopes - Kenny Elissonde (Lidl-Trek), Alberto Contador and Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) included - legendary status and a place on the summit’s plaque awaits. But to earn such glory is to drag yourself through the pits of despair as the road ramps up and gradients of up to 24.7% rear their ugly head.

Be of no doubt, stage 17 will be the most visually compelling of the race and in all likelihood, the man who pulls on the red jersey at the end of the day will fancy their chances of taking the race lead all the way to Madrid. If you only get the chance to watch one stage of this year’s race, make it this.

Read more: Stage 17 preview

Stage 20: Ample room for ambush on the Vuelta’s penultimate day

Start: Manzanares El Real
Finish: Guadarrama
Distance: 207.3km
Elevation gain: 4,431m

Remco Evenepoel made his name on short but steep climbs in the 2019 Clásica San Sebastián

Unless the rider in the red jersey has a lead topping three minutes going into stage 20, the battle for the Vuelta a España title is far from over. That is because despite featuring no climbs above a category 3 classification, the penultimate stage is the hardest of the race, with 4,431m of climbing to contend with between Manzanares El Real and Guadarrama.

A series of short but tricky climbs are scattered across the stage profile and will bring with them plenty of opportunities for attack. Whether it be at Liège-Bastogne-Liège or the Clásica San Sebastián, Evenepoel has made attacking on these sorts of climbs his signature move in recent years.

Despite Evenepoel’s insistence ahead of the race that a podium finish would suit him well come Madrid, he will surely not relinquish his Vuelta a España title without a fight to the end. If the Belgian does come into stage 20 nursing a disadvantage in GC, it's likely he'll seek to make this day the most entertaining of the whole race.

Read more: Stage 20 preview

We’ll be showing live and on-demand coverage of all 21 stages of this year’s Vuelta a España from Saturday, August 26 to Sunday, September 17, plus daily expert analysis on The Breakaway. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.

If you head to our Vuelta a España landing page, you will find everything you need to know ahead of the race, including our race preview, the route, start list and individual stage previews. Check it out for all that and more.