The Vuelta a España is one of cycling’s three Grand Tours, taking the peloton across Spain over three weeks of racing shaped by mountains, heat, exposed plains and some of the steepest summit finishes in professional cycling. Since its first edition in 1935, the race has developed a distinctive identity through its willingness to explore dramatically different regions and introduce unfamiliar roads alongside established climbs.
Around the Peloton follows the Vuelta stage by stage, uncovering Roman cities, medieval fortresses, remote mountain communities, Mediterranean landscapes and the diverse regional cultures encountered along the route. Across more than twenty stages, the race becomes a moving exploration of Spain, revealing how geography and history change from one part of the country to another.
There are stages in which the geography seems to have been designed with little sympathy for cyclists. Stage 9 of the 2026 Vuelta a España is one of them. From the Mediterranean at Villajoyosa, the road turns almost immediately towards…
There is always more than one journey hidden inside a cycling stage. The first is the one we watch: riders attacking and chasing, gaps opening and closing, gradients rising on the screen and the number of kilometres to the finish…
