Vuelta a España Preview & Betting Tips

We preview the 2025 edition of the Vuelta a España which will be the 80th edition of the race, we preview the 2025 race and also look at past winners of the race.
Vuelta a España Preview & Betting Tips
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2025 Vuelta a España

The 2025 Vuelta a España route will be announced in December, the rumours are that it will start in Piemonte, Italy, however, the likelihood of a second consecutive start outside of Spain is questionable.

The race started in Lisbon, Portugal in 2024 and we are sure the race organisers will be looking to start and finish in Spain for the 2025 race.

If you plan on having a bet on the outright winner or on the daily stage markets, then be sure to give our Best Bookie for Betting on Cycling guide a read before you place any bets.

There are several markets available during the racing, most of which go to individual riders with the general classification being the main one as this is the overall winner of the tour.

What does the Vuelta a Espana consist of?

The 2025 Vuelta a Espana will more than likely consist of a total of the traditional twenty-one stage which will be confirmed in December.

2025 Vuelta a España Predictions

The OLBG cycling tipsters will have you covered throughout the twenty-one stages, head over to the main Cycling Betting Tips page for daily tips from La Vuelta as well as over cycling events throughout the year.

You can see who they are predicting to win the Vuelta a Espana and daily markets like rider matchups, which riders will produce better results and who they are picking to win the stage.

You can also see cycling picks from the best tipsters, on the Best Cycling Tipsters page we only display tipsters who have made a profit over the past year for their cycling tips, only tipsters with open tips will be displayed on this page.

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a cycling 'nerd' then why not join and start adding your La Vuelta tips, See if you can challenge the tipsters and claim the top spot in the cycling table and pick up a cash reward!

2024 Vuelta a Espana - Phase 1 Recap

The La Vuelta kicked off with an individual time trial from Lisbon to Oeiras on the 17th of August, the first of nine stages on this first phase of the tour before the first rest day which came on the 26th of August, this first phase covered a total of 1,419 km.

StageRouteWinner
Stage 1
Sat (17 Aug)
Lisbon to Oeiras (Portugal)
Individual time trial - 12 km (7.5 mi)
Brandon McNulty (USA)
Stage 2
Sun (18 Aug)
Cascais to Ourém (Portugal)
Hilly stage - 191 km (119 mi)
Kaden Groves (AUS)
Stage 3
Mon (19 Aug)
Lousã to Castelo Branco (Portugal)
Hilly stage - 182 km (113 mi)
Wout van Aert (BEL)
Stage 4
Tue (20 Aug)
Plasencia to Pico Villuercas
Mountain stage - 167 km (104 mi)
Primož Roglič (SLO)
Stage 5
Wed (21 Aug)
Fuente del Maestre to Sevilla
Flat stage - 170 km (110 mi)
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
Stage 6
Thu (22 Aug)
Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera
Mountain stage - 181 km (112 mi)
Ben O'Connor (AUS)
Stage 7
Fri (23 Aug)
Archidona to Córdoba
Hilly stage - 179 km (111 mi)
Wout van Aert (BEL)
Stage 8
Sat (24 Aug)
Úbeda to Cazorla
Medium-mountain stage - 159 km (99 mi)
Primož Roglič (SLO)
Stage 9
Sun (25 Aug)
Motril to Granada
Mountain stage - 178 km (111 mi)
Adam Yates (GBR)
Mon (26 Aug)Rest day - Phase 1 Total - 1419 km (886.5 mi)

2024 Vuelta a Espana - Phase 2 Recap

After their first rest day on the 26th, the riders got back into action with a Mountain stage from Ponteareas to Baiona, the first of six stages on their second phase which covered a total of 969 km before their second and final rest day on the 2nd of September.

StageRouteWinner
Stage 10
Tue (27 Aug)
Ponteareas to Baiona
Mountain stage - 160 km (99 mi)
Wout van Aert (BEL)
Stage 11
Wed (28 Aug)
Padrón to Padrón
Medium-mountain stage - 164 km (102 mi)
Eddie Dunbar (IRL)
Stage 12
Thu (29 Aug)
Orense to Estación de Montaña de Manzaneda
Hilly stage - 133 km (83 mi)
Pablo Castrillo (ESP)
Stage 13
Fri (30 Aug)
Lugo to Puerto de Ancares
Mountain stage - 171 km (106 mi)
Michael Woods (CAN)
Stage 14
Sat (31 Aug)
Villafranca del Bierzo to Villablino
Medium-mountain stage - 199 km (124 mi)
Kaden Groves (AUS)
Stage 15
Sun (1 Sep)
Infiesto to Valgrande-Pajares
Mountain stage - 142 km (88 mi)
Pablo Castrillo (ESP)
Mon (2 Sep)Rest day - Phase 2 Total - 969 km (602 mi)

2024 Vuelta a Espana - Phase 3 Recap

The final phase was made up of six stages where the riders covered 877 km, the final chance for the riders to make their moves in their attempt to be crowned champion.

StageRouteWinner
Stage 16
Tue (3 Sep)
Luanco to Lagos de Covadonga
Mountain stage - 181 km (112 mi)
Marc Soler (ESP)
Stage 17
Wed (4 Sep)
Arnuero to Santander
Medium-mountain stage - 143 km (89 mi)
Kaden Groves (AUS)
Stage 18
Thu (5 Sep)
Vitoria-Gasteiz to Maeztu
Medium-mountain stage - 175 km (109 mi)
Urko Berrade (ESP)
Stage 19
Fri (6 Sep)
Logroño to Alto de Moncalvillo
Hilly stage - 168 km (104 mi)
Primož Roglič (SLO)
Stage 20
Sat (7 Sep)
Villarcayo to Picón Blanco
Mountain stage - 188 km (117 mi)
Eddie Dunbar (IRL)
Stage 21
Sun (8 Sep)
Distrito Telefónica to Madrid
Individual time trial - 22 km (14 mi)
Stefan Küng (SUI)

Phase 3 Total - 877 km (545 mi)

Vuelta a Espana General Classification

It is no surprise that the Spanish have a good record in the race considering it is their 'home' race, the winner of the general classification has been Spanish a total of thirty-two times with twenty-three riders making up those wins.

That number is clear of the next which is the French who have nine wins (eight riders) followed by the Belgians with eight wins (seven riders) and the Italians with six different winners.

Spanish rider Roberto Heras was the most successful rider in the race, having won it four times (2000, 2003, 2004 & 2005) until Primož Roglič's success in 2024 which also moved him onto four wins (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2024).

Tony Rominger (SUI) and Alberto Contador (ESP) are the only two other riders to have recorded three or more wins in the race with seven other riders having all won it twice.

Last Ten Vuelta a España Winners

YearWinnerTimeStage Wins
2024Primož Roglič
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
81h 49' 18"
+ 2' 36"
3
2023Sepp Kuss
Team Jumbo–Visma
76h 48' 21"
+ 17"
1
2022Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
80h 26' 59"
+ 2' 02"
2
2021Primož Roglič
Team Jumbo–Visma
83h 55' 29"
+ 4' 42"
4
2020Primož Roglič
Team Jumbo–Visma
72h 46' 12"
+ 24"
4
2019Primož Roglič
Team Jumbo–Visma
83h 07' 31"
+ 2' 33"
1
2018Simon Yates
Mitchelton–Scott
82h 05' 58"
+ 1' 46"
1
2017Chris Froome
Team Sky
82h 30' 02"
+ 2' 15"
2
2016Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
83h 31' 28"
+ 1' 23"
1
2015Fabio Aru
Astana
85h 36' 13"
+57"
0

Vuelta a Espana Points Classification

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde is one of the most successful point classification riders, his win in 2018 was the fourth time that he picked up the award having previously also won it in 2012, 2013 & 2015.

His fourth win tied him with Irishman Sean Kelly (1980, 1985, 1986 & 1988) and Frenchman Laurent Jalabert who won the award four consecutive years (1994, 1995, 1996 & 1997).

As well as the general classification, Primož Roglič won the points classification in both 2019 & 2020 but could only manage runner-up in 2021 & 2024 whilst Kaden Groves has won back-to-back in 2023 & 2024.

Those two riders will now both head into 2025 looking for a third win which would put him level with German Erik Zabel (2002, 2003 & 2004).

Last Ten Points Classification Winners

YearWinnerSecondThird
2024Kaden Groves (AUS) (226)Primož Roglič (SLO) (140)
Max Poole (GBR) (118)
2023Kaden Groves (AUS) (315)Remco Evenepoel (BEL) (236)Andreas Kron (DEN) (167)
2022Mads Pedersen (DEN) (409)Fred Wright (GBR) (186)Enric Mas (ESP) (136)
2021Fabio Jakobsen (NED) (250)Primož Roglič (SLO) (199)Magnus Cort (DEN) (161)
2020Primož Roglič (SLO) (204)Richard Carapaz (ECU) (133)Dan Martin (IRL) (111)
2019Primož Roglič (SLO) (155)Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (136)Sam Bennett (IRL) (134)
2018Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (131)Peter Sagan (SVK) (119)Elia Viviani (ITA) (105)
2017Chris Froome (GBR) (158)Matteo Trentin (ITA) (156)Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) (128)
2016Fabio Felline (ITA) (100)Nairo Quintana (COL) (97)Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (93)
2015Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (118)Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) (116)Esteban Chaves (COL) (108)

Vuelta a Espana King of the Mountains

It used to be a case of not looking at anything but a Spaniard to find the King of the Mountain winner, between 1941 & 1986 there were only three non-Spanish winners, and there were also eight winners between 1997 & 2006.

However, the tide has turned, since 2007, of the eighteen winners, only three of those have been Spanish, Luis León Sánchez in 2014 and then Omar Fraile in both 2015 & 2016, and in 2020, 2021 & 2023, there wasn't a single Spaniard in the top three.

The French have picked up a lot of wins of late, David Moncoutié won it for four consecutive years between 2008 & 2011, Nicolas Edet won it in 2013, Geoffrey Bouchard in 2019, and Guillaume Martin picked up the title in 2020.

Jay Vine's success in 2024 means there has now been an Aussie in the top three for each of the last four tours, Michael Storer won it in 2021 and was third in 2023 whilst Robert Stannard was runner-up in 2022.

Last Ten King of the Mountain Winners

YearWinnerSecondThird
2024Jay Vine (AUS)
Marc Soler (ESP)
Pablo Castrillo (ESP)
2023Remco Evenepoel (BEL)Jonas Vingegaard (DEN)Michael Storer (AUS)
2022Richard Carapaz (ECU)Robert Stannard (AUS)Enric Mas (ESP)
2021Michael Storer (AUS)Romain Bardet (FRA)Primož Roglič (SLO)
2020Guillaume Martin (FRA)Tim Wellens (BEL)Richard Carapaz (ECU)
2019Geoffrey Bouchard (FRA)Ángel Madrazo (ESP)Sergio Samitier (ESP)
2018Thomas De Gendt (BEL)Bauke Mollema (NED)Luis Ángel Maté (ESP)
2017Davide Villella (ITA)Miguel Ángel López (COL)Chris Froome (GBR)
2016Omar Fraile (ESP)Kenny Elissonde (FRA)Robert Gesink (NED)
2015Omar Fraile (ESP)Rubén Plaza (ESP)Fränk Schleck (LUX)

Article Contributor Information

The Vuelta a Espana content on OLBG has been created and maintained by Andy Powell who through the creation of the content developed an understanding of the sport.

Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

With a keen eye on the cycling world, Andy provides in-depth analysis, race previews, and comprehensive coverage of cycling events. Andy's contributions establish OLBG as a premier destination for cycling enthusiasts seeking insights and comprehensive coverage.

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