The Vuelta 2028 will start in Sardinia: 7.5 million euros to bring the Grand Start to the Italian island

The Vuelta a España will continue to take its Grand Departures outside the country. Sardinia has approved a budget of 7.5 million euros to host the start of the 2028 edition and its first three stages, according to the regional newspaper La Nuova Sardegna. The operation has not yet been officially announced by La Vuelta, but it represents a new example of the enormous tourist and economic value that international departures of the Grand Tours have acquired.

Sardinia prepares three stages to start La Vuelta 2028

The Regional Council of Sardinia has reserved 7.5 million euros to bring La Vuelta 2028 to the island, where the first three stages would take place before the race moves to Spain.

For now, the routes and the chosen locations for the starts and finishes are not known. Cities like Cagliari, Sassari, or Alghero appear as obvious possibilities due to their importance, but no venue has been confirmed, so we will have to wait to know the design of the three days.

The project has a goal that goes far beyond cycling. The regional government wants to use the international impact of La Vuelta to promote Sardinia as a sports tourism destination and attract new international visitors, with particular interest in the Spanish market.

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The celebration would also coincide with international events for the 700th anniversary of the creation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was historically linked to the Crown of Aragon.

If confirmed definitively by the organization, it would be the second Italian departure of La Vuelta in just four editions. Italy hosted a Grand Departure of the Spanish round for the first time in 2025, when the race started in Turin and held four stages in the Piedmont region.

The news comes just as a new international departure is about to begin. La Vuelta 2026 will start in Monaco, continuing a trend that makes it clear that Spanish borders have long ceased to necessarily mark the starting point of the race.