La Vuelta, a reference in the international cycling calendar, reaffirms its commitment to sustainability thanks to its collaboration with Aquaservice, the leading company in the field of mineral water distribution with dispensers in Spain and Portugal. To this end, for the fourth year in a row, both organisations will work together in a shared mission to promote sustainable hydration. This alliance aims to promote the importance of adequate hydration and to reduce the environmental impact of water consumption.
For many years now, La Vuelta has been working on implementing measures to achieve a more environmentally friendly competition model. This is why this collaboration represents such an important step as, over the past four editions, we have prevented the use of 12 tonnes of single-use plastic with regards to drinking water.
This year, specifically, Aquaservice, as the official water provider, will distribute over 75,000 litres to hydrate the 3,000 people, including athletes, members of the organisation and journalists, that will travel all over the Iberian Peninsula during the three-week race, as well as the more than 19,000 guests and other attendees that will be able to comfortably refresh themselves at the 80 hydration stations located in the different stages. In this way, we will prevent the use of 2,400 kg of single-use plastic, equivalent to 150,000 bottles, in this race alone.
‘As a company with an innately circular economy, we firmly believe in the importance of promoting sustainability in sports and in every aspect of society, which is why it’s a source of great pride for the entire Aquaservice team to see how a competition with such prestige in our country takes significant steps towards sustainability thanks to the collaboration between our companies. It is now almost five years since we began our journey together and we hope it continues for many more to come, making La Vuelta an increasingly more circular event that will serve as an example and as an inspiration to other sporting events,’ said Margarita Baselga, Director of Marketing and Communication for Aquaservice.
‘Sustainability in sporting events of this magnitude is crucial. We’re extremely proud to be pioneers in this initiative that, not only reduces our environmental impact, but also inspires other competitions to do the same,’ Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta.
The 79th edition of La Vuelta, that will take off on the 17th of August from Lisbon and conclude on the 8th of September in Madrid, consists of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,265 kilometres. The riders will face a route including 8 mountain stages, 5 mid-mountain stages or 5 undulating stages (2 of them with high-altitude finales).
FOUR YEARS COLLABORATING WITH LA VUELTA
Aquaservice has been collaborating with La Vuelta since 2021 as part of its ‘Sustainable Sports and Culture’ programme, that seeks to transform events into their more sustainable versions by eliminating single-use plastic, as has already been the case with other such important races as La Vuelta Femenina, the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) and the Copa de La Reina (Queen’s Cup) of Handball, and even the Goya Awards, among others.
Four years ago, La Vuelta became the first Grand Tour in the professional circuit to implement a solution for the elimination of single-use plastic waste resulting from water consumption. That year, there was a 95% reduction in the use of that type of plastic with regards to 2019, when the collaboration had not yet begun. Thanks to this system, we also prevent wasting water, as experienced by La Vuelta, as attendees only fill their cups when needed.
