2020 Vuelta a España

Twenty-two teams made up the field that participated in the 2020 Vuelta a España. All nineteen UCI WorldTeams were entitled, and obliged, to enter the race. Additionally, three second-tier UCI ProTeams were invited to participate in the event. The teams were announced on 8 May 2020.[6]

The teams participating in the race were:

UCI WorldTeams

UCI ProTeams

Defending champion Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) was considered the pre-race favourite, followed by his teammate and 2017 Giro d'Italia champion Tom Dumoulin. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia, was seen as one of their main challengers, alongside Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama–FDJ). Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) was also seen as a top contender, having unexpectedly abandoned the Giro d'Italia during the second stage. Other riders considered as contenders included two time former champion Chris Froome (Ineos Grenadiers), his teammate Iván Sosa, 2009 champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) and Team Jumbo–Visma's Sepp Kuss.

Riders believed to be the main contenders for victories on the sprint stages were Pascal Ackermann (Bora–Hansgrohe), Sam Bennett (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates).[7][8]

The full route of the 2020 Vuelta a España was announced on Tuesday 17 December 2019 in Madrid.[9] The first three stages of the 2020 Vuelta were originally due to be held in the Netherlands, starting in Utrecht.[10] This was due to be the fourth time the Vuelta has started outside Spain and the second start in the Netherlands, following the 2009 Vuelta a España.[11] In hosting the start of the race, Utrecht was to become the first city to host stages of all three grand tours.[12] However, on 29 April 2020, the organisers announced that the opening three stages in the Netherlands were cancelled,[13] before confirming later that same day that the race would be shortened to 18 stages and, except for the cancelled stages, follow the exact same route as announced previously.[5] As a result, for the first time since 1961, the race departed from the Basque Country.[5]

Stage characteristics and winners[5][11]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	20 October	Irun to Arrate	173 km (107 mi)		Hilly stage	Primož Roglič (SLO)
2	21 October	Pamplona to Lekunberri	151.6 km (94.2 mi)		Hilly stage	Marc Soler (ESP)
3	22 October	Lodosa to Laguna Negra de Urbión (Vinuesa)	166.1 km (103.2 mi)		Hilly stage	Dan Martin (IRL)
4	23 October	Garray to Ejea de los Caballeros	191.7 km (119.1 mi)		Flat stage	Sam Bennett (IRL)
5	24 October	Huesca to Sabiñánigo	184.4 km (114.6 mi)		Hilly stage	Tim Wellens (BEL)
6	25 October	Biescas to Aramón Formigal	146.4 km (91.0 mi)[N 1]		Mountain stage	Ion Izagirre (ESP)
	26 October	Vitoria-Gasteiz			Rest day
7	27 October	Vitoria-Gasteiz to Villanueva de Valdegovia	159.7 km (99.2 mi)		Hilly stage	Michael Woods (CAN)
8	28 October	Logroño to Alto de Moncalvillo	164 km (102 mi)		Mountain stage	Primož Roglič (SLO)
9	29 October	Castrillo del Val to Aguilar de Campoo	157.7 km (98.0 mi)		Flat stage	Pascal Ackermann (GER)[N 2]
10	30 October	Castro Urdiales to Suances	185 km (115 mi)		Flat stage	Primož Roglič (SLO)
11	31 October	Villaviciosa to Alto de la Farrapona	170 km (110 mi)		Mountain stage	David Gaudu (FRA)
12	1 November	La Pola Llaviana to Alto de L'Angliru	109.4 km (68.0 mi)		Mountain stage	Hugh Carthy (GBR)
	2 November	A Coruña			Rest day
13	3 November	Muros to Mirador de Ézaro	33.7 km (20.9 mi)		Mountain time trial	Primož Roglič (SLO)
14	4 November	Lugo to Ourense	204.7 km (127.2 mi)		Hilly stage	Tim Wellens (BEL)
15	5 November	Mos to Puebla de Sanabria	230.8 km (143.4 mi)		Hilly stage	Jasper Philipsen (BEL)
16	6 November	Salamanca to Ciudad Rodrigo	162 km (101 mi)		Hilly stage	Magnus Cort (DEN)
17	7 November	Sequeros to Alto de la Covatilla	178.2 km (110.7 mi)		Mountain stage	David Gaudu (FRA)
18	8 November	Hipódromo de la Zarzuela to Madrid	124.2 km (77.2 mi)		Flat stage	Pascal Ackermann (GER)
	Total		2,892.6 km (1,797.4 mi)

The Vuelta a España has four individual classifications, for which jerseys were awarded daily to the leading rider, as well as a team competition. The primary classification is the general classification, which is calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Time bonuses will be awarded at the end of every stage apart from the individual time trial (stage 13). The rider with the lowest cumulative time is the leader of the general classification, and wears the red jersey. The leader of the general classification at the end of the race is considered the overall winner of the Vuelta a España.

The second classification is the points classification. Riders receive points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints during the stages. The points available for each stage finish are the same regardless of the stage's type, unlike in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, in which wins in flat stages are worth up to 2.5 times more points than wins in mountain stages. As a result the winner of this classification is often also a contender for the overall win. The leader is identified by a green jersey.

The next classification is the mountains classification. Points are awarded to the riders that reach the summit of the most difficult climbs first. The climbs are categorized, in order of increasing difficulty, third-, second-, and first- and special-category. The leader wears a white jersey with blue polka dots.

The last of the individual classifications is the young rider classification, which is calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage for each rider born on or after 1 January 1995. The rider with the lowest cumulative time is the leader of the young rider classification, and wears the white jersey.

There is also the team classification. After each stage, the times of the three highest finishers of each team are added together, and all the members of the leading team wear a red number bib on the following stage. The victory is awarded to the team with the lowest cumulative time at the end of the event.

In addition, there is one individual award: the combativity award. This award is given after each stage (excluding the individual time trial) to the rider "who displayed the most generous effort and best sporting spirit." The daily winner wears a yellow number bib the following stage. At the end of the Vuelta, a jury decides the top three riders for the “Most Combative Rider of La Vuelta”, with a public vote deciding the victor.

Classification leadership by stage[16]

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Team classification	Combativity award
1	Primož Roglič	Primož Roglič	Primož Roglič	Sepp Kuss	Enric Mas	Team Jumbo–Visma	Jetse Bol
2	Marc Soler			Richard Carapaz			Gonzalo Serrano
3	Dan Martin						Willie Smit
4	Sam Bennett						Jesús Ezquerra
5	Tim Wellens			Tim Wellens			Guillaume Martin
6	Ion Izagirre	Richard Carapaz				Movistar Team	Gorka Izagirre
7	Michael Woods			Guillaume Martin			Alejandro Valverde
8	Primož Roglič						Stan Dewulf
9	Pascal Ackermann						Juan Felipe Osorio
10	Primož Roglič	Primož Roglič					Alex Molenaar
11	David Gaudu						Marc Soler
12	Hugh Carthy	Richard Carapaz					Guillaume Martin
13	Primož Roglič	Primož Roglič					not awarded
14	Tim Wellens						Marc Soler
15	Jasper Philipsen						Guillaume Martin
16	Magnus Cort						Rémi Cavagna
17	David Gaudu						Marc Soler
18	Pascal Ackermann						not awarded
Final		Primož Roglič	Primož Roglič	Guillaume Martin	Enric Mas	Movistar Team	Rémi Cavagna

• On stages 2, 11, and 14–18, Richard Carapaz, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Primož Roglič wore the red jersey as the leader of the general classification.
• On stage 3, Dan Martin, who was third in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Primož Roglič wore the red jersey as the leader of the general classification, and second placed Richard Carapaz wore the blue polka dot jersey as the leader of the mountains classification. Martin also wore the green jersey on stages 4–6 and 12 as he had moved up to second in the points classification.

• Official website