The 2026 Vuelta will start at the Monaco Formula 1 circuit

When there is still a month and a half left for us to know the route of La Vuelta 2025, Unipublic is already creating excitement after revealing that the Spanish tour will once again start outside our borders. The principality of Monaco will host the first stage in the form of an individual time trial through the streets of the exclusive city, including a section on the legendary Formula 1 circuit.

A 9.6 km time trial in Monaco will kick off La Vuelta 2026

August 22, 2026 is the date set for the start of the next edition of La Vuelta a España, which repeats the formula of moving its start to another country after Utrecht in 2022, Lisbon in 2024, and Turin in 2025. This time, the chosen location to start La Vuelta will be the exclusive city of Monaco, where many of the peloton reside.

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La Vuelta makes this announcement as a small preview of what the route of the 2026 edition will be, which will have its official presentation in mid-December. The start will use the individual time trial format with a 9.6-kilometer urban stage, starting at the famous city casino and finishing nearby on Boulevard Albert I. These names will not be unfamiliar to Formula 1 fans as they coincide with key points of the Monaco GP circuit that will be covered in this initial time trial.

A La Vuelta start that the Principality of Monaco seeks, in the words of Prince Albert II, "To show the world another facet of our country, focused on the promotion of the popular sport, in its noblest sense. Hosting La Vuelta is much more than a celebration of sport, its athletes, and performance in a highly demanding discipline. It is a symbol of openness and projection for our country, which, I remind you, is the World Capital of Sport in this year 2025."

The second stage will also start in Monaco and, after a few kilometers, leave this small country and head towards French territory on a route that has not been revealed yet. Given the proximity to Nice, it is very likely that the stage will finish in this well-known city and that the route will imitate to some extent the hilly and medium mountain stages that usually end the Paris-Nice race. However, as we mentioned, La Vuelta has not provided any further details about the following stages, so this is just a conjecture based on the information we have.