To celebrate its 80th edition, this year the Vuelta has chosen to start abroad, specifically in Italy, which will host the great Spanish stage race, the third biggest grand tour in cycling, for the first time.
    Piedmont will be the host, with the Reggia di Venaria Reale at Turin ready to open its doors to the convoy for the start of the first stage on Saturday, which will likely end in Novara with a sprint finish.
    This choice, featuring an opening stage for sprinters, is somewhat historic, given that only on two other occasions has the first stage of the Vuelta not been a time trial.
    The Italian experience will then continue with the uphill (but not overly tough) finishes in Limone Piemonte and Ceres, before concluding with the fourth stage starting in Susa.
    The riders will bid farewell to Italy by crossing Montgenèvre, then tackle the Lautaret Pass on French soil before launching into the descent to Voiron.
    They will then fly to Spain, where the race will begin with a team time trial.
    It goes without saying that the big favorite for the 2025 Vuelta, which will be broadcast exclusively on Eurosport, is two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, as his great rival and four-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar has opted for a bit more rest before preparing for the World Championships in Rwanda, a particularly suitable season for climbers, including the reigning world champion.
    Visma Lease a Bike offers the Dane a particularly competitive team.
    He'll try not to feel the weight of the odds, which almost force him to win despite the presence of dangerous opponents like the UAE Team Emirates duo Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida, and Giulio Ciccone, who has shown excellent form in recent races.
    But perhaps the Abruzzo native will prefer to chase partial wins while also building his momentum ahead of the World Championships, where he believes he has a good chance.
    Antonio Tiberi is also a GC contender, for whom this Vuelta will be an important test.
    It all depends on how he manages to handle himself after finishing second in the recent Tour of Poland, where he was seen riding well and thus appeared to have recovered from the aftermath of his nasty crash near Gorizia during the Giro d'Italia.
    One unchanged feature of the Tour of Spain is that the 80th edition will also make climbs its hallmark, as there will be eight mountain stages and another five with uphill roads, defined as medium difficulty.
    For this reason, Vingeaard is the favorite, and Ciccone could have his say.
    But to learn more and celebrate the red jersey, the final stage is in Madrid on September 14th.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA