24/07/2026
Looking forward to seeing the pros ride our roads! 🚴🫶🏼
The Vuelta a España will cover 167 kilometers through twenty municipalities between Vera and Calar Alto
Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España will take place on September 3rd, passing through twenty municipalities in the province of Almería. The stage starts in Vera and finishes at Calar Alto, in Gérgal, at an altitude of over 2,100 meters. The route covers 167 kilometers and has more than 4,500 meters of accumulated elevation gain, making it one of the "most demanding, exciting, and decisive" stages of this year's race.
The race will also pass through many other towns, including Antas, Zurgena, Arboleas, Albox, Cantoria, Albanchez, Cóbdar, Benitagla, Alcudia de Monteagud, Chercos, Macael, Tahal, Senés, Tabernas, Castro de Filabres, Velefique, Bacares, and Olula de Castro, as detailed by the Provincial Council in a press release.
The stage will be entirely mountainous and will force the riders to tackle four major climbs before reaching the finish line: Alto del Cabecico, Alto de Cóbdar, Collado García, and Alto de Velefique.
The arrival at the summit of Calar Alto will conclude a stage that, based on its statistics, ranks among the toughest in the three Grand Tours of the world cycling calendar: the Vuelta a España, the Giro d'Italia, and the Tour de France.
The president of the Almería Provincial Council, José Antonio García Alcaina, explained that "La Vuelta is one of those competitions that lies at the heart of our deepest sporting traditions, in the collective imagination of an entire country, a race without which we could not understand sport and cycling in Spain and the world."
"This stage will once again be a major event for the province, opening a window to the world to showcase the tourist and sporting excellence of the 'Costa de Almería' destination," he added.
García Alcaina highlighted the "enormous media impact" of the competition and assured that millions of people around the world "will see once again that the greatness of the province lies in its contrast and variety, going from the coast to the mountains in the same stage."
For his part, the mayor of Vera, Alfonso García, thanked the Provincial Council and La Vuelta for making it possible "to realize the dream of this race one day having our municipality as a host city."
García highlighted the event's potential as a "wealth creator because La Vuelta helps us achieve excellence in all our services due to its demands, and at the same time, it projects us to the world and to a very diverse audience who will discover our beaches, historical and natural heritage, gastronomy..."
The general director of La Vuelta, Javier Guillén, shared the organization's satisfaction that this edition will pass through all eight Andalusian provinces. Almería will be the first province visited by the race on this Andalusian route, which will comprise the final ten stages of the competition.
Guillén also emphasized La Vuelta's connection with the province and stated that the Almería stage "is a very interesting offering, showcasing numerous features from the sea to the mountains, and will be one of the three toughest stages of this edition."
He also highlighted that Almería has everything necessary to host La Vuelta, such as "a high capacity of quality hotels, a strong cycling tradition, and excellent road connectivity that allows us to propose routes like this one."
La Vuelta 26 consists of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,275 kilometers between August 22 and September 13, 2026. The route will run from Monaco to Granada, with the Mediterranean coast as its central axis, passing through France and Andorra and visiting four countries.
The official start and finish will take place in two locations steeped in history: the Casino de Monaco and the Alhambra in Granada. This edition will feature more than 58,000 meters of elevation gain and is shaping up to be one of the toughest in La Vuelta's history.
The competition will be broadcast in 190 countries and will attract millions of viewers worldwide. Last year's edition featured over 1,200 accredited journalists and coverage from 654 media outlets, in addition to achieving a record-breaking 572 million video views on La Vuelta's official platforms.
Source: La Voz de Almeria in English using Google Translate
