Vuelta a Espana 2009 - Cycling Weekly's full coverage
- Thursday, 27 August 2009
- 0 Comments
Vuelta a Espana 2009 logo
The final grand tour of 2009, the Vuelta a Espana, kicks off on Saturday, August 29 in Assen, the Netherlands, with a short 4.8km opening time trial stage.
The race then spends the following three days travelling south through the Netherlands, before reaching Liege in Belgium on Tuesday, September 1.
After an early rest day on Wednesday, September 2 the race re-starts in Spain for stage five from Tarragona to Vinaros.
Despite the flat start in the Netherlands, its a route that favours the climbers. Climbers will have to wait until stage eight on Sunday, September 6, to stretch their legs. And it's in at the deep end, with a tough 172km jaunt starting in Alzira and finishing atop the Alto de Aitana. Along the way there are seven categorised climbs for the riders to negotiate.
Of the eight mountain stages in the 2009 Vuelta, no less than five feature mountain-top finishes. Organisers Unipublic have gone all-out to silence the critics of last year's 'tame' route.
Two individual tests against the clock are included after the short opener in Assen: a 30km test around Valencia on stage seven and the 27.8km penultimate stage around Toledo. Both are likely to play a decisive part in shaping the overall top ten.
The event concludes in Madrid on Sunday, September 20.
We will be covering the 2009 Vuelta a Espana in full with stage reports, news, analysis and photos right here on www.cyclingweekly.co.uk.
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Latest news and features
Deignan delighted with hard-fought win over Kreuziger
Gesink okay to start Vuelta stage 18 after crash
Freire set for retirement in 2010
Unlucky Horner crashes out of Vuelta
Wegelius abandons the Vuelta
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Who will win?
Vinokourov back with Astana for the Vuelta
Britain and Ireland well represented in Vuelta
2009 Vuelta route favours climbers
Cycling Weekly's Rider Profiles: Index
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Stage reports
Stage 21: Valverde takes 2009 Vuelta win
Stage 20: Millar wins Vuelta's final time trial
Stage 19: Gesink slides down overall on Vuelta's last mountain stage
Stage 18: Deignan takes Irelands first Vuelta stage win in 21 years
Stage 17: Roux takes solo win
Stage 16: Greipel storms to third win
Stage 15: Boom solos to win
Stage 14: Valverde suffers but strengthens lead
Stage 13: Unlucky Evans loses time on rivals
Stage 12: Hesjedal wins second stage for Garmin
Stage 11: Farrar takes first grand tour victory
Stage 10: Gerrans takes breakaway victory
Stage nine: Cesar wins as Valverde leads in la Vuelta
Stage eight: Cunego takes first mountain stage of 2009 Vuelta
Stage seven: Cancellara outpaces Millar in TT
Stage six: Bozic surprises sprint rivals to take win
Stage five: Greipel wins again and takes race lead
Stage four: Greipel wins after big crash wipes out bunch
Stage three: Henderson wins stage
Stage two: Ciolek takes first road stage, Hammond third
Stage one: Cancellara wins Vuelta opener
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Photos
Stage 21 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 19 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 18 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 17 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 16 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 15 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 14 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 13 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 12 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 11 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage 10 photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage nine photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage eight photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage six photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage five photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage four photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage three photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage two photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage one photo gallery by Graham Watson
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Stages
| Date | Stage | From | To | Length |
| Saturday August 29 | Stage 1 | Assen (Ned) | Assen (Ned) | 4.8km ITT |
| Sunday, August 30 | Stage 2 | Assen (Ned) | Emmen (Ned) | 203.7km |
| Monday, August 31 | Stage 3 | Zutphen (Ned) | Venlo (Ned) | 189.7km |
| Tuesday, September 1 | Stage 4 | Venlo (Ned) | Liege (Bel) | 225.5km |
| Wednesday, September 2 | Rest day | |||
| Thursday, September 3 | Stage 5 | Tarragona | Vinaros | 174.0km |
| Friday, September 4 | Stage 6 | Xativa | Xativa | 176.8km |
| Saturday, September 5 | Stage 7 | Valencia | Valencia | 30.0km ITT |
| Sunday, September 6 | Stage 8 | Alzira | Alto de Aitana | 204.7km |
| Monday, September 7 | Stage 9 | Alcoy | Xorret del Catí | 188.8km |
| Tuesday, September 8 | Stage 10 | Alicante | Murcia | 171.2km |
| Wednesday, September 9 | Stage 11 | Murcia | Caravaca de la Cruz | 200.0km |
| Thursday, September 10 | Rest day | |||
| Friday, September 11 | Stage 12 | Almería | Alto de Velefique | 179.3km |
| Saturday, September 12 | Stage 13 | Berja | Sierra Nevada | 172.4km |
| Sunday, September 13 | Stage 14 | Granada | La Pandera | 157.0km |
| Monday, September 14 | Stage 15 | Jaén | Córdoba | 167.7km |
| Tuesday, September 15 | Stage 16 | Córdoba | Puertollano | 170.3km |
| Wednesday, September 16 | Stage 17 | Ciudad Real | Talavera de la Reina | 193.6km |
| Thursday, September 17 | Stage 18 | Talavera de la Reina | Ávila | 165.0km |
| Friday, September 18 | Stage 19 | Ávila | La Granja. Real Fábrica de Cristales | 179.8km |
| Saturday, September 19 | Stage 20 | Toledo | Toledo | 27.8km ITT |
| Sunday, September 20 | Stage 21 | Rivas-Vaciamadrid | Madrid | 110.2km |
Vuelta a Espana 2009: Teams
Ag2r-La Mondiale
Andalucia Cajasur
Astana
Bbox-Bouygues Telecom
Caisse d'Epargne
Cervelo Test Team
Cofidis
Columbia-HTC
Contentpolis-Ampo
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Francaise des Jeux
Fuji-Servetto
Garmin-Slipstream
Lampre-NGC
Liquigas
Milram
Quick Step
Rabobank
Silence-Lotto
Saxo Bank
Vacansoleil
Xacobeo Galicia
Vuelta a Espana 2009: TV guide
British Eurosport is showing live coverage of every stage of the '09 Vuelta. You can see the TV schedule here.
External links
Vuelta a Espana official website
Reader comments
Add your commentsNo comments have been added yet. Be the first by adding yours below...