La Vuelta a España will announce the route for the 2026 edition of the cycling tour on December 17, but we already know that it will finish in Granada, a change from the usual finish in Madrid. The final stage of La Vuelta, on September 13, coincides with the Formula 1 race in Madrid, and therefore the organisers searched for an alternative place to end the competition.
Originally, it was going to end in the Canary Islands. There had been talks between the race organisers and the local government of the archipelago, but things changed when the government of Gran Canarias, one of the two provinces of the islands, opposed to hosting the race there due to the participation of the Israeli team, which is no longer Israeli, that caused big protests last summer. Granada was picked as a last-minute replacement.
However, the government of Tenerife, the other province of the Islands (from an opposite political party than the one in Gran Canarias) does not want that all that work go to waste. "We are very hurt, because there was a lot of work behind a project that was good for everyone: for all of the Canary Islands, for tourism, for cycling... And it has all gone to waste because of political issues that should not influence the sport", said Manolo González, advisor Ideco, company involved in the competition.
According to a report from As, they are already planning to save all that logistical work for the future. A stage in Tenerife would have included a partial ascent to Mount Teide, ending at the observatory at 2,390 meters over sea level (the volcano, the tallest summit in Spain, measures 3,715 m).
Would you like to have watched a Vuelta a España stage in Mount Teide in Tenerife? Maybe for La Vuelta 2027...