Barcelona will host the official start and the first two stages of
the 78th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a España, starting on August 26, 2023, and the competition organizers and the Barcelona City Council have announced some of the settings for the 14-kilometer team time trial route that kicks off each edition. Among the choices, the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc stands out, coinciding with the 31st anniversary of Barcelona'92, but also new spaces such as
the Blue Pavilion, a term with which the Barcelona City Council refers to the coastal front, which will serve as the setting for the start of the first stageFor next year, the Catalan capital takes over from the Dutch city of Utrecht, which last Thursday hosted the competition, welcoming the initial race, the team time trial with which La Vuelta 22 began, an edition that does not pass through Catalonia.
With the 2023 event, it will be the second time in the race's history that Barcelona will host an official start.The first occasion was in 1962. 50 years later, in 2012, the last passage of the Vuelta through the city took place: a stage starting in Andorra and finishing in Montjuïc, where the Belgian Philippe Gilbert won. The Dutch city passed the baton to the Catalan one in an event attended by the Councilor for Sports of the Barcelona City Council, David Escudé; the mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma, and the general director of the Vuelta, Javier Guillén.
The first time Barcelona hosted a start of the Vuelta was in 1962
At the handover ceremony to officialize the relay, Escudé stressed that the council wants the entire city and all neighborhoods and districts to be able to vibrate and participate in this great event, and for that reason they are working on "a circuit that reflects this idea." For Escudé, "Barcelona will once again host a great competition" ---as will also happen in 2024 with the celebration of the America's Cup of Sailing--- because "it is a city that loves cycling and loves challenges."
For his part, the general director of the Vuelta Ciclista highlighted the "extraordinary satisfaction" that the start from Utrecht has brought and that Barcelona will take over in 2023. "The quality of the cities that host the start of our event is something to boast about. That's what happened this year with Utrecht and what will happen again next year with a great international city like Barcelona," Guillén said.
The Councilor for Sports of the Barcelona City Council, David Escudé, took the baton as host city of the Vuelta from the mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma.