The parcours of next year's Vuelta a España has been announced in an official presentation by organiser Unipublic in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday. One of the key characteristics of the 2006 edition of the stage race will be the omission of the Pyrennees mountains; and while there are several hard climbs to be mastered, including five summit finishes, the event will not be as demanding as when the dreaded Angliru or Lagos de Covadonga were on the programme.
The 2006 Vuelta a España will start from the Southern coastal city of Malaga on August 26 with a team time trial covering 7.2 kilometres, then turn to the Northwestern part of the country for three mountain stages. After the first rest day and another stage spent at the Northern shores of the Atlantic, the Vuelta points Southwards again and passes Madrid in Cuenca, where the first individual time trial over 33 kilometres will take place.
After another meeting point with the ocean - this time, the Meditterranean Sea at Almussafes - and the second rest day, the riders will be transferred to the far South again for another three mountain stages. The final time trial before the traditional finish in Madrid will be carried out in Rivas Vaciamadrid. Totalling 3129 kilometres, the race will end on September 17, 2006.
The full route details list as follows:
Stage 1 - August 26: Málaga - Málaga, TTT, 7,2 km
Stage 2 - August 27: Málaga - Córdoba, 167 km
Stage 3 - August 28: Córdoba - Almendralejo, 220 km
Stage 4 - August 29: Almendralejo - Cáceres 142 km
Stage 5 - August 30: Plasencia - Estación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar), 178 km
Stage 6 - August 31: Zamora - León, 155 km
Stage 7 - September 1: León - Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada), 148 km
Stage 8 - September 2: Ponferrada - Lugo, 173 km
Stage 9 - September 3: A Fonsagrada - Alto de La Cobertoria, 206 km
Rest Day - September 4
Stage 10 - September 5: Avilés - Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar), 190 km
Stage 11 - September 6: Torrelavega (Oscar Freire Velodrome) - Burgos, 165 km
Stage 12 - September 7: Aranda de Duero - Guadalajara, 162 km
Stage 13 - September 8: Guadalajara - Cuenca, 170 km
Stage 14 - September 9: Cuenca - Cuenca, ITT, 33 km
Stage 15 - September 10: Motilla del Palancar - Ford factory (Almussafes), 175 km
Rest Day - September 11
Stage 16 - September 12: Almería - Astronomical Observatory of Calar Alto, 145 km
Stage 17 - September 13: Adra - Granada, 167 km
Stage 18 - September 14: Granada - Sierra de la Pandera, 153 km
Stage 19 - September 15: Jaén - Ciudad Real, 195 km
Stage 20 - September 16: Rivas Vaciamadrid - Rivas Vaciamadrid, ITT, 28 km
Stage 21 - September 17: Madrid - Madrid, 150 km
