The return to Spain 2025: dates, route, key stages and maximum title applicants
This Saturday, August 23, the 90th edition of the Tour of Spain will begin, the last great return of the cycling season. For three weeks, the squad will travel 3,138 kilometers along 21 stages, until the new champion on September 14 in Madrid.
When and where does the return to Spain begin?
The race will have a historical start: for the first time it will start in Italy, with three days in the Piedmont. The inaugural stage will be between Torino – Reggia Di Venaria and Novara (183 km), where the first leader will be defined. On the second day the first final will arrive in Limone Piemonte (157 km from Alba) and the third fraction will close the Italian journey with arrival in Ceres after passing the Issiglio port. The fourth stage will head to France before the race enters Spain.
This will run around 2025
The route is designed to offer show on all lands: there will be 3 stages undulating with final in high, 4 plains, 1 plain with end in high, 6 of the middle mountain, 5 high mountain, in addition to a counterreloj by teams in Figueres (20 km, stage 5) and an individual in Valladolid (26 km, stage 18). As is tradition, Madrid will receive the final stage again on Sunday, September 14.
Hardest and decisive stages
The layout recovers historical tops and adds expected returns. The Angliru will be the protagonist again (stage 13), along with the farrapona the next day. Pal (Andorra), Cerler, Valdezcaray, Larra-Belagua and El Morirero also return, tops where key pages of the history of the race were written. The great final battle will be in stage 20 with arrival in the ball of the world (2,258 m), Cima Alberto Fernández of this edition and culminating point before the party in Madrid.
Other traps on the tour
In addition to the high mountain, there will be half-mountain days that could be decisive: Bilbao (stage 11) with the climb to Pike and double passage through the nursery, Los Corrales de Buelna with the Collada de Brenes (stage 12), and the replica of the Liege-Bastoña-Lieja in Galicia (Stage 16 towards Mos. Castro Herville), a broken path that already left a spectacle that already left in 2021.
Favorites to the title
The departure list will be marked by two great absences: Tadej Pugačar, recent champion of the Tour, and Primož Roglič, current winner of the Vuelta. However, the poster is still star. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma) will look for his first red jersey, backed by SEPP Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson. In the UAE, João Almeida and Juan Ayuso arrive with leadership ambitions. Among the applicants are also Mikel Landa as a Spanish reference, the Colombian Egan Bernal, the Australian Jai Hindley and young talents such as Tom Pidcock and Giulio Pellizzari. In the sprints, Mads Pedersen part of the green jersey.
A 90th anniversary with history
The return 2025 will be special not only for its journey, but for symbolism. The 90th anniversary will be held with stages in four countries (Italy, France, Andorra and Spain) and with unpublished exits and arrivals such as Torino, Novara, Limone Piemonte, Ceres or Figueres. The race, which began in 1935, pays tribute to its past and promises a vibrant edition that will mix tradition and show in the search for the next champion.
