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News :: 2006 Vuelta a España Uncovered

14 December 2005

2006 Vuelta a España Uncovered

la Vuelta a España 2006, photo: © Unipublic

Today in Madrid the route of the 61st Vuelta a España was uncovered by race organizers, Unipublic. Under the intense news of the recent dismissal of Roberto Heras from the 2005 race, combined with the Grand Tour's scuffle with the UPTC (UCI ProTour Council), Unipublic had every reason to present a scorcher of a Iberian route. The race organizers came through with a short and punchy 2006 version of their Vuelta: From Málaga to Madrid (3,129.2K) there are two individual TT's and five mountain finishes.

Stage 5, photo: © Unipublic

The race is kept mellow for the first four stages, starting with an opening Team Time Trial of 7.2K on the streets of Málaga. From the Team TT the race travels north on the western side of Spain to the region of Galicia. On the way the race will hit the first of five mountain finishes, stage 5 to Béjar. What is interesting is that Béjar is the birth place of Roberto Heras, the same rider that was expelled from the 2005 Vuelta.

Stage 9, photo: © Unipublic

Oddly the 61st edition does not hit the high mountain peaks of the Pyrenees. The race does have its second and third mountain finish with stages 7 and 9. Stage 9 to Alto de La Cobertoria, in the Asturias region, is quite the doozy. Over 206K the riders will cover four categorized climbs before finishing on the final cat 1 climb. The riders will spend the following day resting in Avilés, conveniently close to the stage 9 finish.

After the rest day the race will travel south to Granada. In the southern Andalucía region the riders will face the two mountain finishes, stage 16 and 18. Stage 16 to the Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto follows the second day of rest, so the riders legs should muddy, making for some interesting results. Stage 18, with the summit finish on the Sierra de la Pandera, will be the last stage for the climbers to make a dent in the general classification.

That leaves three flat stages left for the Vuelta: two sprint stages (there are 11 total) and the final 28K TT to Rivas Vaciamadrid. For 2006 the number of TT kilometers has been scaled down to 61, from last year's 94. If the mountains did not open up the GC then stage 20 could be the final factor in Spain's grand tour.

Stages
26 August, Stage 1, Málaga Team TT, 7.2K
27 August, Stage 2, Málaga - Córdoba, 167K
28 August, Stage 3, Córdoba - Almendralejo, 220K
29 August, Stage 4, Almendralejo - Cáceres, 142K
30 August, Stage 5, Plasencia - La Covatilla (Béjar), 178K, Map
31 August, Stage 6, Zamora - León, 155K
01 Sept, Stage 7, León - Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada), 148K, Map
02 Sept, Stage 8, Ponferrada - Lugo, 173K
03 Sept, Stage 9, A Fonsagrada - Alto de La Cobertoria, 206K, Map
04 Sept, Rest Day, Avilés
05 Sept, Stage 10, Avilés - Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar), 190K
06 Sept, Stage 11, Torrelavega - Burgos, 165K, Map
07 Sept, Stage 12, Aranda de Duero - Guadalajara, 162K
08 Sept, Stage 13, Guadalajara - Cuenca, 170K
09 Sept, Stage 14, Cuenca TT, 33K
10 Sept, Stage 15, Motilla del Palancar - Factoría Ford (Almussafes), 175K
11 Sept, Rest Day, Almería
12 Sept, Stage 16, Almería - Calar Alto, 145K, Map
13 Sept, Stage 17, Adra - Granada, 167K, Map
14 Sept, Stage 18, Granada - Sierra de la Pandera, 153K, Map
15 Sept, Stage 19, Jaén - Ciudad Real, 195K
16 Sept, Stage 20, Rivas Vaciamadrid - Rivas Vaciamadrid TT, 28K
17 Sept, Stage 21, Madrid - Madrid, 150K
Total 3,129.2K

Read:
2006 Vuelta a España Route Announced Today, 14 December
2007 Vuelta to Depart from Galicia, 11 December
2005 Vuelta a España

Other Grand Tour Routes:
2006 Giro d'Italia Route Unfolded, 12 November
2006 Tour de France Route Revealed, 27 October

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