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2020 Vuelta a Espana to begin in the Netherlands with team time trial

By Cycling News

published 12 December 2018

Utrecht and Noord-Brabant to host start of Spanish Grand Tour

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The Vuelta a Espana peloton rolls out for the start of stage 10(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Simon Yates with the Vuelta trophy(Image credit: Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images)

Simon Yates passed the first test in Andorra with his Vuelta leader's jersey intact (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Vuelta a Espana tackles la Rabassa in 2017(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 2020 Vuelta a España Salida Oficial will begin in the city of Utrecht and province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands, the race director Javier Guillén has confirmed.

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Ahead of the race start, the teams' presentation, as well as an opening stage team time trial, will be held in the city of Utrecht, with the second stage beginning in 's-Hertogenbosch before also finishing in Utrecht. The third stage will start and finish further south in the town of Breda and will be a loop within the province of Noord-Brabant, before the Grand Tour returns to Spain.

It will be the second time the Salida Oficial has begun in the Netherlands after Assen in 2009, and a fourth time abroad after Lisbon in 1987, Assen in 2009 and Nîmes in 2017.

The 2020 race start will be funded as a joint enterprise between the private industry group Business Peloton Utrecht alongside the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and sports and five municipal and provincial state bodies.

Vuelta race director Javier Guillén said in a press release: "There is a great passion for cycling in both Utrecht and Noord-Brabant. Both provinces have experience in hosting cycling events. In addition, the cultural-historical ties between Spain and the Netherlands and the topic of sustainability are to serve as the central theme.

"This was one of the major criteria influencing the management's decision to award the start of La Vuelta 2020 to Utrecht and North Brabant."

The 2019 race will begin in the Alicante region in southern Spain, with reports also suggesting the race will also head to Andorra and Pau, France before its traditional finish in Madrid. The official full route presentation of next year's race is expected on December 19.