The Vuelta a Espaa must also remove the passage through Portugal from the route | Right away

The Vuelta a Espaa will also not visit Portugal this year. The passage through the neighbouring country has been removed from the route because the stages in question cannot guarantee the organisation because of the Corona crisis.

This gives two stages a different route. The fifteenth stage would end between Porto and Matosinhos, but would get a different finish. The 16th stage, which would start in Viseu, also needs to be changed.

It is not yet known what the route will look like without the route through Portugal. The alternative host cities have already been approved by the Vuelta organisation, but the new route is not yet ready. Details will be published in the coming weeks.

“In the exceptional situation in which we live, we have to be flexible and accept such decisions and changes,” says race director Javier Guillén. ‘It’s a shame that we can’t visit Portugal, but we’re going to maintain those ties so we can go back to a country that has treated us well.’

Previously, it was known that the Tour of Spain will not start in the Netherlands this year. The Vuelta was supposed to start in Utrecht, but because of the Corona crisis, the organizing committee of this city decided to withdraw.

Thus, the Basque Irun now serves as a starting point. In the new calendar of the international cycling union UCI, the start of the Vuelta has been postponed until 20 October. The round has 18 instead of the usual 21 stages and ends on November 8 in Madrid.

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