The Tour of Spain (La Vuelta) is the late-season cycling Grand Tour. It is an unpredictable race that offers dramatic climbs, uphill finishes, and tests the patience and legs of the Peloton across 21 days of cycling action. This is often many rider's breakout race or a footnote at the end of their career. (You can watch Eurosport commentator David Millar struggle through it at the end of his career in his excellent film Time Trial). As it is the end of the season, it means riders will be pushed to their limits, and this creates a real old-school racing environment. There are plenty of local riders and teams as well who know the foibles of the route and will be going all out for national pride. The Vuelta is the most unpredictable of the tours and in the article below, we will attempt to explain all you need to know about betting and watching the event.
The race route this year is firmly fixated on staying in the North of Spain, as the hotter Southern areas have been overlooked. In fact, the furthest South they will venture will be the finish in Madrid. Well, having said that, they actually roll out from the city of Torino in Italy, so it starts off outside of Spain. The opening stage will be a rare, gentle flat one, followed by another flat stage with a short, heavy uphill finish that La Vuelta specialises in. There is one more Italian stage and then a quick visit to France, both being medium mountainous stages. The riders will then jump on a plane and head to Spain and the team trial in the city of Figueres. This can make a real difference to the race and expect the big teams to target this heavily as it is a great day for the sponsors as well.
Stages 6 and 7 will be the final ones held outside Spain as the tour visits the micro-nation of Andorra and goes up the hulking Coma Pedrosa. From stage 8 it is all back in the North of Spain, but there is little for sprinters to get excited about, as it is mountains or hilly/uphill finishes. There are rest days on the 11th and the 17th days, but are all high gradient up until stage 18 in fact. This is a climber's tour that’s for sure, but the time trial on stage 18 is relatively flat and will offer some respite for the others. There are finally sprint stages for those that have survived the mountains on stages 19 and 21 (with a mountain in between, of course) with the traditional finish on the streets of Madrid on the 14th September.
2025 La Vuelta Details
✅ Edition Number
84
🤩 Teams & Riders
23 Teams, 184 cyclists
🚲 Stages
21
💡 Route Length
3,138 km (1,950 mi)
🗓️ Dates
23 August – 14 September 2025
🌐 Countries Visited
4 (Spain, Italy, France, Andorra)
History of La Vuelta
Inspired by the success of the grand tours in France (Le Tour de France) and Italy (Giro d’Italia), Spain began looking into holding its own cycling tour of the country at the start of the 1930s. A small national tour was organised from Eibar to Madrid, where the bike manufacturers and tour sponsor proved popular, and a larger tour of the country was first run in 1935. Before TV and the internet, cycling fans had to get their race updates from the local newspapers, and the race was heavily sponsored by the Spanish cycling paper, Información. The first 2 Vuelta’s were hotly contested between Mariano Canardov, the national hero, and the Belgian Gustaaf Deloor, with the Belgian breaking Spanish hearts with a double victory.
La Vuelta struggled to establish itself after 1936, with the race only running 7 times in 19 years due to World War 2 and the brutal Spanish Civil War. However, since 1955, it has been run every year. It grew in stature from the early 1960s despite some financial problems and a non-fatal terrorist attack in 1968. It has now become a major event at the end of the cycling season and is seen as the third of the Grand Tours, alongside the two races they first hoped to emulate, while keeping its own unique personality against the others.
The Tour has always had an unpredictable nature, and is traditionally very hard to ride, with many big mountain climbs included. Spanish riders have a good history within it, winning 32 of the previous editions up to 2025. This includes legends like Alberto Contador (3), Roberto Heras (4), Pedro Delgado (2), and Luis Ocana (1). Miguel Indurain, arguably Spain's greatest cyclist and 5 times Le Tour winner, never won it with his best finish as runner up in ‘91, and a surprising abandonment in the ‘96 Vuelta, which proved to be his final ever grand tour.
Why Bet on La Vuelta 2025?
La Vuelta may not be the most well-known worldwide sporting event, but savvy gamblers will certainly be looking forward to this year's grand depart. There are a wealth of reasons why it is worth betting on with daily promotions, stages, and action that lasts 4-7 hours!
For your in-play bets I would suggest studying which riders look strongest in breakaway groups. Also think about riders that may have other things to concentrate on in tour terms and team orders to follow rather than being free to go for the stage win.
Overall Tour Jersey Winners Red - best time, White and Blue dots - most mountain points, Green - Most points, White - best time (young rider).
Stage Winner - The winner of that days stage (who crosses the finish line first).
Fastest - Which riders are quickest on time trial stages?
Head-to-Heads - Choose two riders or more and bet on who finishes first from those selections.
Fastest Team - Which team will finish first overall or by stage?
Margin of Victory - How many minutes a rider will win by.
Top Betting Sites for La Vuelta 2025
1xBet #1
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With last year's winner, Primoz Roglic, likely to give this year a miss, the field is a little bit more open. In all honesty, a lot will depend on how the big guns are doing after the gruelling Tour de France the month before. You tend to get better odds with an earlier wager, however, so it is worth a look at who is trading well at this stage.
In terms of the GC, Jonas Vingaard is the main favourite, with Spaniard Carlos Rodrigueaz and Portuguese Joao Almedia also looking like they will do well. South Americans are always dangerous climbers and show well in Spain, so I would suggest some easy way money on veteran Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz.
In terms of the early red jersey holder, keep an eye on Antonio Tiberi, who will want to do well in the early stages in his home country of Italy. Brit Thomas Pidcock should be a good one for a few of the more hilly stages, as will big Alexsandr Vlasov. Filippo Ganna looks like a dark horse outside the main contenders for time trial wins. This is not a race for sprinters, and the green jersey will likely be won by a climber. On the few sprint days available, keep an eye on Mads Pederson and Ethan Vernon, as both should have teams that will nurse them over the hard climbing days and enough left in their legs to produce a fast finish.
La Vuelta Betting Strategies and Tips
A grand tour lasts 3 weeks, so there is plenty to consider when you are betting on the Vuelta. Things can change rapidly from day to day. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Rider Form
Track rider form before and during the tour, look at whether a rider (usually older or younger ones in this case) has been groomed to make a big impact at this tour, and look at race results leading up to the start.
Injuries
It is vital to be fit in a grand tour; riding with an injury hinders performance massively. Also, look at how riders are recovering between stages and how many km they have in their legs going into La Vuelta.
Know the Stage
Mountain stages favour climbers, flat stages - sprinters, hilly stages - breakaway riders, time trial stages - time triallists. Beyond this simple definition, you also need to look at riders who may know the stage route as they are local to the area. It is also good to see who has performed well if the stage route has been raced in previous years of the tour.
Team Orders
You have two types of riders, domestic and team leaders, and teams. Teams will be targeting certain stages and events. Riders will need team clearance to attack on certain stages or ride to team orders. You will need to understand who is allowed to go for wins and breakaways on a certain day, as some riders will be instructed not to attack to defend the team.
Live Betting on La Vuelta 2025
There are plenty of live betting options when a stage has started, and with some of the mountain routes taking over 6 hours to complete, you have more than enough time to get bets placed! When you have a breakaway group, you should be looking at who has the stronger legs and also at team orders in case “domestics” have to drop back to help out race leaders further down a climb. Equally is the Peloton is going to catch the breakaway, especially on hilly or flat stages. Let’s look at some common in-play options.
Next sprint - Points for the green jersey are hard fought, and every stage will have mid-stage sprints. You can bet on these before they happen, look at the best sprinters in the group or peloton for these.
Next Climb - All climbs, even short ones, have KOM points up for grabs and will usually have an in-play market on who will win the next climb.
Live Head to Heads - You can pick riders and set them head to head during the stage.
Stage Winner - You can pick a stage winner during the race, which is especially handy after a breakaway or large crash.
Will a rider abandon? - You can bet on whether the survivor of a crash will make it through the day.
What Payment Methods Can I Use to Bet on La Vuelta 2025?
There are several different payment methods you will find that you can use when you are betting on the Vuelta. The main ones are below, but these vary depending on the bookmaker and of which forms of each they accept.
Bonuses are a great way to make your bankroll go that bit further, and during a grand tour, you will find them everywhere at any decent sportsbook. All operators will have different ones available to you, but most will fall into the categories below.
Type of Promo
Details
Pros
Cons
💰 Cashback on Daily losses
Money returned as a percentage of your lost bets
Your bankroll will last longer
Money is often given as bonus cash or Free bets and will need to be wagered again
💸 Risk-Free Stage Bets
Money back if a certain event happens
Second attempt at the bet
Some risk involved
⬆️ Odds Boosts
Odds Boosts on chosen riders or events
More value in a bet
Boosts can be random or unsuitable
🏆 Extra Places on finishing positions
Extra places paid on each-way wagers
Extra chances to win some stake money back
Smaller winnings for the lower positions and odds may drop at sites that offer this
Pros and Cons of Betting on La Vuelta 2025
La Vuelta is probably the most unpredictable of the world tours, with hard stages and lots of young riders and smaller teams invited. This is a blessing and a curse for bettors in some ways, but also makes it hard for bookies to price. Some main pros and cons are below.
There are plenty of markets to bet on in a grand tour. Most popular are Individual Race Winner (Red Jersey), Sprint Winner (Green Jersey), King of the Mountains (Blue & white Jersey), Best Young Rider (White Jersey). Others include GC winner, stage winner, and head-to-head bets.
It is worth remembering that you can only bet on the GC (overall) winner once, and lots can change over the 3 weeks. When betting on stages, you have 21 of them, and you can be a bit more selective based on injuries and current rider form in the tour.
Certain riders perform better depending on the terrain. Climbers are good up mountain stages, and sprinters are stronger on the flats. Time Trialists will do well on timed stages and often on hilly stages. This all influences the odds as the fastest sprinter will be the favourite on one stage and the best climber the next.
With stages lasting around 4-5 hours, and there being regular point classification checkpoints, cycling is one of the best sports for live betting, with plenty of time to think carefully and get in-play bets placed.
Yes, there are markets for both points and KOM (King of the mountains), and you can get these on a daily leader basis or for the overall pre-race.
Of all the grand tours, La Vuelta usually includes the most surprise stage wins. It is often the first and last tour that pro cyclists ride, and also, as it is the last tour of the season, tired legs of the favourites can play a part.
La Vuelta is available on various channels and streaming platforms across the world. In the UK, it is on Eurosport and discovery+. In the US, Peacock is the official broadcaster. Different regions have other broadcasters, for instance, SBS in Australia, RTVE in Spain, and ESPN in Latin America.
Yes, launched in 2015, the La Vuelta Femenina is part of the Women’s World Tour; it is raced in the month of May over 7 stages. Demi Vollering from the Netherlands won this year's tour.
Saul has always been a keen sportsman and latterly sports fan who is a close follower of football, hockey, and lawn bowls. Having always been someone who could identify value, his gambling insights come through in his writing, offering in depth, well researched, and thought provoking articles.
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