How to watch La Vuelta 2023: Start list, route, TV coverage
Following quickly on from the Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, we have the final grand tour of the year in La Vuelta a España, or the Tour of Spain. In this article we will look at the route, the start list, the favourites and more.
When is La Vuelta 2023?
This year's Vuelta a España is taken place between the 26th August and 17th September 2023. It is the 78th edition of the race, starting in Barcelona and finishing in Madrid.
What is the 2023 Tour of Spain route?
The 2023 edition of the race should be a challenging one and an exciting event for both the pro's and the fans watching from the side of the road. There are a number of uphill finishes, iconic mountain climbs and only a small amount of time trialing (39.6km in total).
The route will include climbs such as the Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aubisque, Col du Soulor, Col de Spandelles, Altu de l'Angliru among others. The final week has two really tough summit finishes in that of the Angliru on stage 17 and a new summit finish on the Puerto de la Cruz de Linares on stage 18. The race looks like it will be competitive until well into the final week. The race will most likely be won and lost on the mountains, favouring a climber for the overall GC.
What is the Tour of Spain schedule?
| STAGE | TYPE | DATE | START AND FINISH | DISTANCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAGE 1 | TTT | 26/08/2023 | Barcelona > Barcelona | 14.8 km |
| STAGE 2 | Hilly | 27/08/2023 | Mataró > Barcelona | 182 km |
| STAGE 3 | Mountain | 28/08/2023 | Súria > Arinsal. Andorra | 158.5 km |
| STAGE 4 | Hilly | 29/08/2023 | Andorra la Vella.Andorra > Tarragona | 185 km |
| STAGE 5 | Hilly | 30/08/2023 | Morella > Burriana | 186.5 km |
| STAGE 6 | Mountain | 31/08/2023 | La Vall d'Uixó > Pico del Buitre. | 183.5 km |
| STAGE 7 | Flat | 01/09/2023 | Utiel > Oliva | 201 km |
| STAGE 8 | Mountain | 02/09/2023 | Dénia > Xorret de Catí. Costa Blanca Interior | 165 km |
| STAGE 9 | Hilly | 03/09/2023 | Cartagena > Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca | 184.5 km |
| REST 1 | Rest Day | 04/09/2023 | Valladolid | - |
| STAGE 10 | ITT | 05/09/2023 | Valladolid > Valladolid | 25.8 km |
| STAGE 11 | Uphill finish | 06/09/2023 | Lerma > La Laguna Negra.Vinuesa | 163.5 km |
| STAGE 12 | Flat | 07/09/2023 | Ólvega > Zaragoza | 151 km |
| STAGE 13 | Mountain | 08/09/2023 | Formigal. Huesca la Magia > Col du Tourmalet | 135 km |
| STAGE 14 | Mountain | 09/09/2023 | Sauveterre-de-Béarn > Larra-Belagua | 156.5 km |
| STAGE 15 | Hilly | 10/09/2023 | Pamplona > Lekunberri | 158.5 km |
| REST 2 | Rest Day | 11/09/2023 | Santander | - |
| STAGE 16 | Uphill finish | 12/09/2023 | Liencres Playa > Bejes | 120.5 km |
| STAGE 17 | Mountain | 13/09/2023 | Ribadesella / Ribeseya > Altu de L'Angliru | 124.5 km |
| STAGE 18 | Mountain | 14/09/2023 | Pola de Allande > La Cruz de Linares | 179 km |
| STAGE 19 | Flat | 15/09/2023 | La Bañeza > Íscar | 177.5 km |
| STAGE 20 | Hilly | 16/09/2023 | Manzanares El Real > Guadarrama | 208 km |
| STAGE 21 | Flat | 17/09/2023 | Hipódromo de la Zarzuela > Madrid. | 101.5 km |
What is the La Vuelta 2023 Start list?
You can view the full start list on Pro Cycling Stats. Look there for more details on individual riders and teams.
Who are the 2023 Vuelta favourites?
The main riders and favourites are this year's 2023 Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard riding for Jumbo Visma, alongside teammate and Giro 2023 winner Primož Roglič. They will be competing against 2023 Giro runner up, Geraint Thomas who rides for Ineos and UAE team leader João Almeida, who finished third in the Giro. The other main rider to watch is obviously last year's winner and recent World Champion in the Time Trial, Remco Evenepoel, who will be looking to defend his 2022 title. This will be his second grand tour of the year after starting the Giro before abandoning the race on the first rest day with Covid. He was leading the race at that point and will be looking to finish on the top step of this year's podium.
This year's Vuelta has a very strong field and the race will hopefully be very competitive. It will be exciting to see a fully fit Remco battling against Primož, Jonas, Geraint and Almeida. The race route looks like it favours pure climbers, so Jonas may have the edge over the more punchy riders, depending on if he has managed to maintain the form that he had during the 2023 Tour de France.
How to watch La Vuelta live?
To watch the Vuelta a España in different regions, including the USA, Canada, and the UK, here are the broadcasting options available:
USA:
- The Vuelta a España will be available to view in the USA on Peacock. Some stages may also be shown on CNBC. The cost for Peacock subscription is $5.99 per month, with an ad-free Peacock Premium Plus subscription costing $11.99 per month. Annual subscription options are available as well.
Canada:
- FloBikes will air the race in Canada. An annual subscription to FloBikes costs $12.50 per month.
UK and Europe:
- The 2023 Vuelta a España will be broadcast in the UK and Europe on Eurosport channels 1 and 2, and it will also stream on Discovery+, which carries Eurosport's live coverage. Discovery+ subscription costs £6.99/$9.15 per month, or £59.99/$78.51 for a 12-month pass.
- The race will also be available on GCN+, with a year's subscription costing £39.99 and a monthly subscription costing £6.99.
- Additionally, ITV4 will show highlights of the race for free in the UK.
If you are looking for highlights and in depth analysis of each stage, then the Lantern Rouge YouTube channel, or the Lantern Rouge Cycling Podcast has got you covered. This is a channel dedicated to cycling race analysis with extended strategic analysis, highlights and discussion.