La Vuelta 20 has new dates, following today’s official announcement by the International Cycling Union (UCI). The Spanish tour will take off with the Irun – Arrate. Eibar stage on Tuesday the 20th of October, and will conclude in Madrid on Sunday, the 8th of November.
Due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, Unipublic, organiser of La Vuelta, made the decision to cancel and not replace the official departure which was to take place in the provinces of Utrecht and North Brabant (Netherlands). Taking this into account, the UCI has reorganised the cycling calendar by exceptionally including a Vuelta with 18 stages, instead of the usual 21. This is a unique event as, since its 1986 edition, La Vuelta has always featured, at least, 21 days of competition.
The Director of La Vuelta, Javier Guillén, has highlighted his “satisfaction” with the new dates. “We have to try to turn this necessity into a virtue and to make the most of the opportunities available to us as a result of this new paradigm. We have a great position in the calendar and we hope to have an exceptional participation level”, emphasised Guillén.
La Vuelta will take place one month after the Tour de France (29th of August – 20th of September) and three weeks after the UCI Road World Championships in Switzerland (20th – 27th of September).
THE LATEST VUELTA
With these changes, La Vuelta 20 will be the latest edition in its history. Originally (1935) held during the months of April, May and June, Unipublic made the decision to move it to the end of summer in 1995. Up until now, its 2001 edition held the record for being the latest in the calendar. That year, the Spanish tour began on the 8th of September with an individual time trial in Salamanca and concluded with a linear stage in Madrid on the 30th of September.
