Vuelta a Espana 2016: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Dates and Full Stage Info
The 2016 Vuelta a Espana gets under way on Saturday with some high-profile names set to take on the gruelling course in the last Grand Tour of the year.
Tour de France winner Chris Froome will line up alongside his Team Sky team-mates as he aims to complete the first Tour-Vuelta double in the same year since Bernard Hinault in 1978.
He will be up against a tough field that includes three-time Vuelta winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Movistar duo Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, both of whom finished some way back from Froome in France.
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Here is the full stage schedule, with a 29.4-kilometre team time trial from Balneario Laias to Castrelo de Mino kicking things off.
| Stage 1 | Aug. 20 | Balneario Laias - Castrelo de Mino | Team Time Trial | 29.4 km |
| Stage 2 | Aug. 21 | Ourense - Baiona | Flat | 159 km |
| Stage 3 | Aug 22 | Marin - Mirador Ezaro | Hilly | 170 km |
| Stage 4 | Aug. 23 | Betanzos - San Andre de Teixido | Hilly | 161 km |
| Stage 5 | Aug. 24 | Viveiro - Lugo | Flat | 170 km |
| Stage 6 | Aug. 25 | Monforte de Lemos - Luintra | Hilly | 163 km |
| Stage 7 | Aug. 26 | Maceda - Puebla de Sanabria | Hilly | 158.3 km |
| Stage 8 | Aug. 27 | Villalpando - La Camperona | Flat | 177 km |
| Stage 9 | Aug. 28 | Cistierna - Alto de Naranco | Hilly | 165 km |
| Stage 10 | Aug. 29 | Lugones - Lagos de Covadonga | Mountain | 186.6 km |
| Rest day | Aug. 30 | |||
| Stage 11 | Aug 31 | Colunga - Pena Cabarga | Flat | 168.6 km |
| Stage 12 | Sept. 1 | Los Corrales de Buelna - Bilbao | Hilly | 193.2 km |
| Stage 13 | Sept. 2 | Bilbao - Urdax | Hilly | 212.8 km |
| Stage 14 | Sept. 3 | Urdax - Aubisque | Mountain | 195.6 km |
| Stage 15 | Sept. 4 | Sabinanigo - Formigal | Mountain | 120 km |
| Stage 16 | Sept. 5 | Alcaniz - Peniscola | Flat | 158 km |
| Rest day 2 | Sept. 6 | |||
| Stage 17 | Sept. 7 | Castellon - Mas de la Costa | Mountain | 173.3 km |
| Stage 18 | Sept. 8 | Requena - Gandia | Flat | 191 km |
| Stage 19 | Spet. 9 | Xabia - Calpe (ITT) | Individual Time Trial | 39 km |
| Stage 20 | Sept. 10 | Benidorm - Alto de Aitana | Mountain | 184.5 km |
| Stage 21 | Sept. 11 | Las Rozas - Madrid | Flat | 102.5 km |
Watch live on Eurosport 1 (UK) and NBCSN (U.S.). Live stream via Eurosport Player.
Astana's Fabio Aru claimed victory in last year's Vuelta, but he will not be in Spain this year, and nor will Vincenzo Nibali.
The Kazakh team will be led by Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, 22, in his Grand Tour debut after he won the Tour de Suisse back in June.
He has a tough task on his hands to make it back-to-back Vuelta wins for Astana given the quality set to be on show.
Froome, Contador, Quintana and Valverde are joined by Esteban Chaves of Orica–BikeExchange and BMC Racing's Tejay van Garderen among many others.
Cyclingnewstv picked out 10 riders to watch in Spain:
As ever, the Vuelta route will be brutal, and in 2016 it features no fewer than 10 summit finishes. For the sprinters, there are seven flat stages likely to end in a mass fight for the line.
Mercifully for the riders, the organisers have opted to keep most of the action in the north of Spain, meaning shorter transfers between the stages.
There are likely to be very few stages where the leaders can take it easy and conserve their energy.
The opening team time trial will be crucial, and even more important will be the individual time trial on Stage 19 from Javea to Calpe, when the GC winner could be decided.
Given the climbing nature of this year's Vuelta route, the mainly flat run for Stage 19 will potentially give time trial specialists an opportunity to make some gains in the closing stages of the race.
Stage 10 will also be important for the GC riders as it culminates with the iconic climb up the Lagos de Covadonga, a brutal 12.2 kilometre stretch on an average 7.2 per cent gradient.
With a rest day to come after the stage, those going for the red jersey are likely to leave everything on the mountainside on a day that could shape the rest of the race.
It is sure to be a gruelling and intense battle on this year's Vuelta across the three weeks of racing with some high-quality contenders in the peloton.
Fatigue could play a key role—especially for Froome who looked tired winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics—and only the strongest will remain in contention for the winning red jersey come the turn for Madrid.
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