Vuelta a Espana 2015: Prize Money, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Full Stage Info

The 2015 Vuelta a Espana begins on Saturday, August 22 in Puerto Banus, kicking off the 70th edition of the prestigious race.

Tour de France winner Chris Froome will be among those competing, along with fellow stars Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana, who will face off for up to €1,059,805 in prize money, per the event's official regulations.

Like the Tour, the Vuelta comprises 21 exciting stages, with the final route ending in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Sunday, September 13.

Eurosport carry full TV coverage of the event in the UK as well as providing the option to stream it live via its Eurosport Player. In the United States, the race can be streamed at Universal Sports.

Here is the full stage schedule:

Stage	Date	Distance	Course	Profile
-	Tuesday, September 1st		Andorra la Vella	Rest day
-	Tuesday, September 8th		Burgos	Rest day
1	Saturday, August 22nd	7.4 km	Puerto Banus / Marbella	Team time trial
2	Sunday, August 23rd	158.7 km	Alhaurin de la Torre / Caminito del Rey	Hilly
3	Monday, August 24th	158.4 km	Mijas / Malaga	On-line
4	Tuesday, August 25th	209.6 km	Estepona / Vejer de la Frontera	On-line
5	Wednesday, August 26th	167.3 km	Rota / Alcala de Guadaíra	On-line
6	Thursday, August 27th	200.3 km	Cordoba / Sierra de Cazorla	Hilly
7	Friday, August 28th	191.1 km	Jodar / La Alpujarra	Hilly
8	Saturday, August 29th	182.5 km	Puebla de Don Fadrique / Murcia	Hilly
9	Sunday, August 30th	168.3 km	Torrevieja / Cumbre del Sol. Benitatxell	Hilly
10	Monday, August 31st	146.6 km	Valence / Castellon	Hilly
11	Wednesday, September 2nd	138 km	Andorra la Vella / Cortals d’Encamp	Mountain
12	Thursday, September 3rd	173 km	Escaldes–Engordany. Andorra / Lleida	On-line
13	Friday, September 4th	178 km	Calatayud / Tarazona	On-line
14	Saturday, September 5th	215 km	Vitoria / Alto Campoo. Fuente del Chivo	Mountain
15	Sunday, September 6th	175.8 km	Comillas / Sotres. Cabrales	Mountain
16	Monday, September 7th	185 km	Luarca / Ermita de Alba. Quiros	Mountain
17	Wednesday, September 9th	38.7 km	Burgos / Burgos	Individual time trial
18	Thursday, September 10th	204 km	Roa / Riaza	Hilly
19	Friday, September 11th	185.8 km	Medina del Campo / Avila	Hilly
20	Saturday, September 12th	175.8 km	San Lorenzo de El Escorial / Cercedilla	Mountain
21	Sunday, September 13th	98.8 km	Alcala de Henares / Madrid	On-line

Preview

The Vuelta is a particularly mouthwatering prospect this year, with the Tour de France's top four riders all set to contest it.

Froome will be bidding to make history as just the third rider to win both the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year, with team principal Sir Dave Brailsford confirming the 30-year-old would be the leader of Team Sky:

The two-time Tour winner has faced doping allegations over the summer—which he denies—and the rider took to Twitter to show he is undergoing physiological testing:

Froome told the BBC that the allegations are unrelated to his decision to undergo these tests and that he simply wants to know "what makes me the athlete I am."

Froome will face stiff competition from Movistar duo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, who finished second and third, respectively, in the Tour. The pair worked well together throughout the race and certainly pose a threat in the general classification.

However, as CyclingNews.com's Barry Ryan notes, both run the risk of burnout with Quintana having raced for nine more days on the road than Froome this year, while Valverde's 63 racing days equates to 15 more than the Briton.

Defending champion Alberto Contador is the only notable absentee, but Tinkoff-Saxo appear well prepared to cope without the Spaniard.

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

In his place, the team will be supporting Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan. Per CyclingNews.com, Tinkoff-Saxo directeur sportif Tristan Hoffman said in a release:

"

Here, before the start of the Vuelta, our goal is to win a stage with Majka and secure a good final position in the general classification with him. Majka is our clear GC captain and he will be up against most of the big stars such as Froome, Quintana and Nibali.

At the same time, we’ll support Sagan, who’s feeling ready after a post-Tour recovery period. He will be targeting the flat and hilly stages, while Rafal will have the backing of the entire team in the mountains.

"

Four mountain stages in six days in the second week could make or break Sagan and the others.

Stage 11, the first after the rest day, will be crucial, with the event's official website noting: "For many, this will be the toughest stage to ever feature in the Vuelta," thanks to its six intense climbs and a 4,950-metre slope.

Two flat stages follow before three successive mountain stages finish the week, all of which end with either a category one or a special category climb.

For the majority of the riders, it has already been a long season, so the Vuelta represents a significant test of endurance as well as strategy.

For the stars competing in the general classification, it will all come down to who has recovered best from their Tour exertions.