Already recognised as a real test of skill, a team time trial opening next year’s Vuelta a España will impose additional demands on the riders and make a first for modern cycling. According to Marca.com, a group race against the clock will be staged in Seville, running between 9 and 11 pm and thus requiring the riders to compete in testing light conditions.
Street lighting will be particularly relevant for the last teams to start the test, which will begin at the Teatro Maestranza and finish eighteen kilometres later at the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower). It will follow an urban route, tracing a path along the streets and avenues in the Andalusian city.
Evening time trials have been used in the race before, but this will be the first time that the race will start so late in the day. Many Spanish businesses remain open until 8pm and so it will be hoped that the measure will see an increase in the number of spectators.
It will also add a unique element to the race, which often struggles to attract the same sort of attention as the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain and is more than 2000 years old. The decision to host the opening stage there was taken to mark the 75th edition of the first Vuelta. It is expected that there will be at least six stages which will start in Andalusia, one of the hottest regions of Spain.
The full route of the Vuelta a España will be launched on December 16th in Seville. This year’s race was won by Caisse d’Epargne rider Alejandro Valverde.