“La Vuelta begins one of its most emotional adventures”, race director Javier Guillén celebrates as riders and followers gather in Lisbon, already vibrating with the Spanish Grand Tour ahead of the Gran Salida. “It’s a good time to start testing”, technical director Kiko Garcia adds as La Vuelta 24 introduces a series of new safety measures.
GUILLÉN: “LA VUELTA BEGINS ONE OF ITS MOST EMOTIONAL ADVENTURES”
“Here we are, La Vuelta is officially inaugurated”, race director Javier Guillén celebrated on Wednesday, as he introduced the headquarters of the Gran Salida, set in the Centro Cultural Belem, to Ângelo Pereira, Municipal Councillor for Lisboa, and Veronica De Carvalho, from the Junta de Freguesia de Belém. “This is the nerve centre of La Vuelta, the place where most of the 3,500 to 4,000 people who follow the event need to come to receive their accreditation and instructions so that such an important event, with so many people, runs smooth”, Guillén explained. “The sporting kick-off will be on Saturday, at 16:23, but La Vuelta begins today of one its most emotional adventures. La Vuelta 24 will be full of spectacular views and we wanted to make the most of a monumental city like Lisbon. The Jerónimos Monastery is a human wonder that highlights the values of cycling, visiting venues everyone can admire.”
LISBON FEELS LA VUELTA
The city of Lisbon is ready to shine with the start of La Vuelta 24, repeating an experience already lived in the 1997 edition. Notably, on Thursday 15 August, from 17:00 (Portuguese time), the garden of the famous Belém Tower will be a spectacular setting for the official presentation of the teams taking part in this edition.
On Friday and Saturday, a fan zone will be set up in the Vasco de Gama Garden. Also on Saturday, before the race starts at 16:23, the popular Pedala Portugal Bike Tour Lisboa Oeiras 2024 will complete the same 12 kilometres route from Praça do Império in Lisbon to Praia da Torres in Oeiras that will decide the first leader of La Vuelta 24.
“We are very proud to host La Vuelta in Lisbon and in such a beautiful environment”, Ângelo Pereira, Municipal Councillor for Lisbon, said in the Centro Cultural de Belém, next to the Jerónimos Monastery. “It will be a fantastic La Vuelta and a demonstration of the great work Spain and Portugal can do together.”
LA VUELTA 24 INTRODUCES NEW SAFETY MEASURES
La Vuelta 24 is the protagonist of a series of new safety measures Kiko Garcia describes as the technical director of the race: “These are measures proposed by safeR, a body made up of all the families in the cycling world. The first one is a yellow card system to prevent bad habits, whether from riders, motorbikes, sports directors… A wrong action can result in a yellow card, which can only be issued by a commissaire, and it has to do with safety. In addition, like it happened in the Tour de France, we have four stages in which the safety zone for the sprint will be slightly extended. It will be on stages 2 and 3 in Portugal and stage 5 in Seville, which will be 4 kilometres from the finish, and stage 17 in Santander, where it will be extended to 5 kilometres from the finish.”
“It is a test period for these measures”, Garcia added. “It started in the Clasica San Sebastian and the Tour de Pologne. There will probably be some mistakes, but it's a good time to start testing.”
FROM LISBON TO MADRID - “LA VUELTA IS DIFFERENT”
Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) and everyone can share the passion of La Vuelta with the official teaser of 2024 edition, voiced by the American defending winner of the Spanish Grand Tour. “La Vuelta is special for me because it’s the race where I feel most at home”, Kuss explains over images highlighting the stunning venues and battles the event displays for the world. “La Vuelta is different. There’s no easy days and there’s always a challenge to overcome.” Are you ready for the last Grand Tour of the season?
LA VUELTA ONLINE
Followers of La Vuelta can turn to many sources to enjoy the event to the fullest and even take part in the action. The most essential info and the most striking images are available on the official website, lavuelta.es, while the Race Center (racecenter.lavuelta.es) will bring together every content LIVE during the stages.
To get behind the scenes and feel the unique atmosphere of the Spanish Grand Tour, turn to #LaVuelta24 on social media (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, Dailymotion, Strava and TikTok, with exclusive content). Analysis and reactions will be brought on a daily basis on the official podcast of La Vuelta…
And La Vuelta Fantasy by Tissot returns for every player to select the riders that will power them to victory in the general league (with many prizes at stake) or in private leagues with their friends and relatives.
