Finally, the Tour of Spain will start from the Basque Country

The 2020 Tour of Spain cycling will not start from Utrecht in the Netherlands, but from Irun in the Basque Country, and will be reduced to 20 days of racing instead of 23, announced the organizers of the race on Wednesday evening. via press release. "After formalizing the cancellation of the start of La Vuelta 20 in the Netherlands, Unipublic, the organizing company of the race, decided not to replace the three initial stages - which were to cross the Dutch regions of Utrecht and North Brabant - and to start the Spanish loop with the Irun - Arrate (Eibar) stage (the 4th stage in the initial route), "the organizers announced on Wednesday in a press release.

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"The decision was communicated to the UCI (International Cycling Union) so that the body responsible for regulating cycling can work on reorganizing the calendar taking into account the exceptional variable of a 20-day Vuelta, and not 23, as originally planned, "said the organizers, who have not yet assigned new dates to the Spanish loop.

Departure date still unknown

The Vuelta was scheduled to start on August 14 from Utrecht and finish on September 6 in Madrid, but the race was postponed to an unknown date due to the pandemic of new coronavirus. “It is clear that when you trace the course of a race, you don't expect to have to make changes of this importance. But under the current conditions, we have to remain cautious and accept the fact that it is very difficult to reorganize a new official start at such an advanced stage of the season, due to all the institutional and logistical planning that this implies ”, a justified the director of Vuelta, Javier Guillén, cited in the press release.

# LaVuelta20 tendrá 18 etapas y arrancará en el País Vasco

# LaVuelta20 will consist of 18 stages and will take off from the Basque Country

The Basque Country will therefore experience a great start to the Tour of Spain for the first time in almost 50 years: in 1961, the Vuelta started from San Sebastian with a team time trial in the streets of the city.

18 stages and two days of rest

This 75th edition of the Spanish loop, if it takes place this fall as desired by the organizers, will therefore have 18 stages and two days of rest. It will be the first since 1985 to have less than 21 stages (in 1985, the Vuelta had run in 19 stages according to the press release). The organizers have announced that they are already working on a reprogramming of the great departure of the Vuelta in the Netherlands in 2022. In 2021, the Spanish loop will start from Burgos, in the north of the country.

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