2020 Tour of Spain
La Vuelta – Final 2 weeks
Grand Tour Dates 20th October — 8th November
12 days | 29th October to 9th November
Join our 2020 Tour of Spain trip featuring picturesque coastlines, grand accommodation and fabulous food.
AT A GLANCE
- 12 Days
- 8 Dinners
- 7 Stages
- Luxury Transport
- High Staff Ratio
- Intermediate to Experienced
- 3 & 4 Star Hotels
Tour of Spain Bike Trip Details
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
- Visit Northern Spain and following closely the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route
- See the the “green” spain, Cantabria
- Experience cider like no other in Oviedo, Asturias
- Explore the rugged coastline and magnificent seafood from Galicia
- 7 stages of 2020 Tour of Spain,
- Big mountain stages
- Stage starts and stage finishes
- Individual time trial
- Ride Alto d'Angliru
Duration: 12 Day
Dates: October 29, 2020 to November 9, 2020
Start: Bilbao, Spain (Bilbao Airport)
Finish: Madrid, Spain (Hotel)
Group Size: 30 guests, 6 staff
Price: AUD $7,200 (US $4,820)
Single Supplement: AUD $1,150 (US $770)
Note: All trip costs are per person, not including airfare and based on two persons per room. If travelling alone we will match you with a person to share. Alternatively, you may choose to have a room of your own by paying the single supplement.
Note: Bikestyle Tours requires that all guests have a valid Travel Insurance policy for the duration of their trip.
RIDE OPTIONS
Our Tour of Spain 2020 trip gives you the choice each day with an easy, challenging or epic ride option. Navigate along the coast, through the valleys or climb into the Picos of Europe.
There are also the steep ramp grades to challenge ourselves on, like Alto d’Angliru – the toughest of them all.
We take the best care of you and your bike. Experienced ride guides support every ride and we have support vehicles fitted with professional bike carriers.
SPECTATORS AND OFF THE BIKE
Our carefully planned itinerary follows important stages through to the finish in Spain’s capital, Madrid. While our focus is riding and watching the race, there are many scenic locations that make this trip suitable for a non-riding partner as well.
SOCIAL RIDING AND LEISURE
We understand that your cycling holiday is a HOLIDAY! We understand that you don't normally ride everyday at home. Our ride routes cherry-pick the best areas.
Some training will always enhance your experience!
EXPERIENCED RIDERS
Your cycling holiday is all actually about the bike! Our epic and challenge ride options seek more vertical metres and longer miles.
TRIP INCLUSIONS
Accommodation and Transport
- Transport throughout, custom van or luxury coach
- Transport for your bike with professional bike carriers
- 11 nights accommodation 3 & 4 star hotels
- Spa Hotels, Paradors and modern architectural hotels
- Collection from Bilbao Airport on 29 October, 2020
Meals
- Buffet breakfast daily
- 3 course evening meals on 8 nights
- Wine on most evenings
Professional Ride Support
- Hosted by our experienced tour guides and professional drivers
- Mechanical assistance with your bike
- Ride support vehicle when you need it most
- Navigation assistance on all guided rides
- Sports powdersm water and bars during your ride
BIKE HIRE
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fibre
- Bike Rental Cost: AUD $726 (US $485)
- Optional upgrade to SuperSix EVO Ultegra Di2
Note: All bike hire costs include 2 water bottles for you to keep. We also provide a saddle bag with a spare tube, pump, tyre-levers and multi-tool. The pump and saddle bag with its contents must be returned with the hire bike at the end of hire.
Tour of Spain – La Vuelta Tour Itinerary
Bienvenidos, Welcome to Spain
Staff will meet guests at Bilbao Airport at 10am. There are several connections from many European destinations. Arrive a couple of days early to move into the Spanish timezone and way of life. Explore the vibrant town centre, coming alive each evening with many tapas bars, beautiful architecture and friendly people.
After a short transfer to our spa hotel, we’ll have some lunch and assemble our bikes before setting off on our warm up ride. Our shake out ride helps your travel legs, checks your bike and you’ll get to know your staff and fellow travellers. A shortcut will eliminate a climb for those needing a little more time. Tonight is our welcome dinner where staff will answer all of your questions about your 2020 tour of Spain cycling holiday.
Irresistible Spain, Santillina del Mar
Today we’ll see the peloton of the 2020 Tour of Spain pass through one of our favourite Spanish villages, Santillina del Mar. The popular tourist destination has a wonderful old cobble village centre filled with bars, food places and great gift shops.
Two ride options today, a more direct route to Santillina giving you time to see the village before the race comes through and a challenging long route over a tough Spanish climb. A recent inclusion in the Tour of Spain, the tight forest road to Los Machucos has ramps nearing 30%, walk if you must. There are great views from its summit. After punishing our legs and lungs we’ll catch the race before returning to our hotel.
Conquering Alto d’Angliru
Today’s stage has 5 categorised climbs, finishing on the uncategorised Alto de la Farrapona. Our challenge before the racing lights up this afternoon is on tomorrow’s final climb and Vuelta’s most famous, Alto d’Angliru. This will give you a chance to reach the top and climb at your own pace. Truth be known, it is only possible at your own pace! The climb is only 12 kilometres, but the final 6km is something beyond belief.
Tonight and tomorrow night are available for you to indulge in your own piece of Spanish culture. Oviedo is the capital of Asturias and they are famous for their cider. Walk down “cider st” and find yourself a great value meal, we can suggest sharing a board of grilled vegetables or meats accompanying with the uniquely poured cider. Cider not your thing? Well try a sangria, white or red.
Race Finish on Alto Angliru
Having seen and conquered the monster climb the day before, we’ll ride the earlier climbs in today’s route. They are easily within reach of Oviedo. After seeing the race, we’ll congregate at a local bar and watch the final climb unfold. See the race in the right time zone, after riding the same roads in the morning. It’s a short intense stage today.
Dramatic Spain Coastline
The peloton will take their final rest day before reaching Madrid. With the last two stages finishing on uncategorised summit finishes, their return is welcomed by more steep ramps in an individual time trial. Together, these 3 stages will make the selection of top contenders. Today we’ll make our transfer toward tomorrow’s time trial stage and enjoy a scenic ride, featuring unique natural cathedrals along the Galicia coastline.
Spanish Time Trial with a Twist
Our ride will be a little shorter today as we focus our attention toward an exciting time trial. Many riders will most certainly change out their bikes for the final 1.5 km of the 33.5 km course. In just a short distance they will climb almost 300m, an exciting stage to be a part of. Our hotel is just a short distance from the course and tonight we will have dinner together and share our stories of the last few days.
Exploring Galicia
We’ll take a day away from the race today and explore the unspoiled Galicia coastline. It is rarely busy, and the windy roads take us to isolated beaches, rugged coastal cliffs and rolling green hills. In roman times, the peninsula was believed to be the end of the known world. After an enjoyable ride we’ll catch up with the finish of today’s race on television.
Stage Start to Portugal
After breakfast this morning we’ll set off south towards Portugal. We’ll see the excitement of a stage start. La Vuelta stage starts are like no other, everything is remarkably calm, all spectators have great access to teams and their riders and the precision of parking the police bikes and wagons is something to behold. After the stage start, we will set off on our ride traversing the border of Portugal and arriving at our hotel.
Ancient City Walls and Stage Finish
After a stage start yesterday, we focus our attention today on the pointy end of the race, viewing a stage finish. It will most likely be a fast stage rewarding an opportunistic breakaway. Our ride with explore some nearby climbs, or a valley road for something more leisurely. The situation of the finish is an old town with 12th-century city walls. The ramparts and historic centre is worth exploring before the arrival of the peloton.
Final Mountain Finish, Alto de la Covatilla
Six categorised climbs feature in today’s penultimate stage, with a finish at a ski station, near to 2,000m. The exposed climb to Covatilla makes its summit appear much closer and a consistent around 10% gradient, your weary legs will test your resolve. Crowds will be walking up before the race arrives, and their cheer will give you encouragement. We will watch the race on the climb before rolling back to our hotel for a farewell dinner, leaving the night free in Madrid tomorrow.
Madrid Finale, Arts District
La Vuelta’s traditional finish takes place on the elegant Paseo de la Castellana, a grand avenue which can be compared to the Champs Elysées in Paris. There is a no ride today as we will transfer to Madrid this morning, making it in time ahead of the road closures. Our hotel, in the Art’s district is only 200m from the race circuit, so you will be close to all of the action for the final laps at high speed in Madrid.
Adios, Farewell from the Final Grand Tour
Today we say farewell to your new friends as our tour comes to an end this morning. You may like to stay a few extra days in Madrid and explore this cultural and vibrant city. Did you know that Madrid has the highest life expectancy of all EU-regions? Certainly worth finding out the secret.
2020 La Vuelta Route
75th LA VUELTA — Grand Tour experience, SPANISH culture
Incredible climbs are marked throughout the La Vuelta route. In 2020, we expect to see more exciting stages. The course will visit 4 countries with a start in Netherlands. France and Portugal will also welcome the Grand Tour riders.
La Vuelta is the last chance for riders to redeem their year. Just as we saw in 2018 when Simon Yates won, after he had “blown up” during the final week of the Giro earlier that year. Equally, Primož Roglič had a disappointing performance at the Giro in 2019 before redemption at the Vuelta in the same year.
Incredible climbs, like Angliru
The Spanish are fanatical about their cycling and passionate for their countrymen. However, you wouldn’t believe their fanaticism until moments before the race.
Their social culture sees that locals relax, usually enjoying a glass of tinto and tapas before the arrival of La Vuelta. The sea of Spanish flags and the sound of whistles, bells and horns obscure the helicopters filming the race. Experience the Spanish Grand Tour.
No other Grand Tour like it
Spain is spoiled for locations to ride. Whether it be the familiar Pyrenees, the Asturias, the Cantabrias, Andorra or Sierra Nevada … Our Tour of Spain cycling trip will get you the best locations for seeing the La Vuelta Grand Tour and riding along amazing roads.
Travel with us and we’ll get you to the summit of Spain’s great climbs, none more tough than Angliru. You’ll have the peace of mind in being looked after by our professional guides and comfort like a professional rider in our luxury transport.
Our 2018 and 2019 La Vuelta were sold out quickly. So avoid disappointment and make sure you secure your place at 2020 La Vuelta.
See key stages of the 2020 Tour of Spain
STAGE 13 • Castro Urdiales » Suances
STAGE 15 • La Pola Llaviana » Alto d’Angliru
STAGE 16 • Muros » Mirador de Ézaro (ITT)
STAGE 18 • Mos » Porto. Matosinhos
STAGE 19 • Viseu » Ciudad Rodrigo
STAGE 20 • Sequeros » Alto de la Covatilla
STAGE 21 • Hipódromo de la Zarzuela » Madrid
Ride stages of the La Vuelta a España
We ride along the race course ahead of the race on select days and take more scenic road to intersect with the race on others. Some ride routes will go along roads that have animated previous editions of the Tour of Spain, like as the steep ramps to Los Machucos. All of our ride routes follow safe corridors, avoiding busy highways and maximising the spectacular scenery.
Quiet roads, spectacular scenery
Ride the Epic Spanish Climbs
Our first rides explore “green” spain, coinciding with stage 13 of La Vuelta. Mostly a stage for sprinters, we’ll see the peloton pass through one of our favourite spanish villages – Santillina del Mar. Tracking along the coastline through the Picos of Europa, we arrive in Oviedo, a Spanish cycling hotspot and famous for its cider. We see the two toughest mountain stages and challenge ourselves on the Alto d’Angliru. Organiser’s once said “a Tour of Spain without Angliru is like a 15 minute football match or a 5km marathon”. Well there is satisfaction in conquering the 20% plus grades!
Experience the Irresistible Culture of Spain
While riding our bikes is our primary focus, we target seeing key stages of the race. We also take the time to appreciate the irresistible culture of Northern Spain – people are relaxed, nothing is too much trouble and community spirit is core to their daily activities.
Our journey starts in Bilbao, home of the Guggenheim Museum – it is an impressive building with equal exhibits. Arrive a day or two early and enjoy the Basque culture in its capital. Join the locals as they enjoy a late sunset at vibrant tapas bars. After meeting our tour group we set off on a route that follows closely the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, though our wheels take us a little faster than those on foot.
Admire Spain’s Diverse Landscapes
A much anticipated stage in Galicia will highlight our trip. The individual time trial along the Galicia peninsula will be an important moment in the race, especially with the Spanish’esque ramp over the final 2km. Riders will probably make a bike change from their time-machine to a more suitable climbing rig for the final approach.
We venture momentarily into Portugal after seeing a Vuelta stage start and catch a sprint finish before the final mountain stage near our hotel. The ski-station finish at nearly 2,000m will maintain the interest of the race leaders through to Madrid.
