One of the three great cycling races in the world along with the Tour De France and Giro D'Italia, goes to the Basque country for the first time in a number of years.
The race has six flat stages which should suit the sprinters including Mark Cavendish (pictured below0 who won the Green Jersey in the 2010 Vuelta whilst there are enough mountain stages to keep the climbers happy.
The stages for those who live in Spain or just fancy a few days of sunshine and cycling are as follows:
Saturday August 20: stage one: Benidorm-Benidorm - team time trial 16km
Sunday August 21: stage two: La Nucia - Playas Orihuela 171.5km
Monday August 22: stage three: Petrer - Totana 164km
Tuesday August 23: stage four: Baza - Sierra Nevada 172km
Wednesday August 24: stage five: Sierra Nevada - Valdepeñas de Jaén 200km
Thursday August 25: stage six: Ubeda - Cordoba 185.7km
Friday August 26: stage seven: Almadén - Talavera 185km
Saturday August 27: stage eight: Talavera - San Lorenzo del Escorial 182km
Sunday August 28: stage nine: Villacastin - La Covatilla 179.5km
Monday August 29: stage ten: Salamanca - Salamanca: individual time trial 40km
Tuesday August 30: rest day
Wednesday August 31: stage 11: Verin - La Manzaneda 171km
Thursday September 1: stage 12: Ponteareas - Pontevedra 160km
Friday September 2: stage 13: Sarria - Ponferrada 150km
Saturday September 3: stage 14: Astorga - La Farrapona 173.2km
Sunday September 4: stage 15: Aviles - Angliru 144km
Monday September 5: rest day
Tuesday September 6: stage 16: La Olmeda - Haro 180km
Wednesday September 7: stage 17: Oyon - Peña Cabarga 212.5km
Thursday September 8: stage 18: Solares - Noja 169.7km
Friday September 9: stage 19: Noja - Bilbao 157.9km
Saturday September 10: stage 20: Bilbao - Vitoria 187km
Sunday September 11: stage 21: Circuito del Jarama - Madrid 94km
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM