Alongside the first stage of La Vuelta a España, in Utrecht, Netherlands, ROUVY, launched a multi-stage digital version of the 2022 Spanish Grand Tour.
As the official, multi-year provider of La Vuelta Virtual, users of ROUVY can ride simulated stages from home. An in-person grand finale in Madrid for La Vuelta Virtual will wrap up the series on September 11.
At the in-person grand finale leading virtual riders will compete on Zycle stationary bikes in the La Vuelta VIP zone. Ahead of this there will be 15 days of racing across a total virtual 800km – with prizes up for grabs along the way.
The 77th edition of the real-world La Vuelta 22 started on Friday, August 19th. The races finishes on Sunday, September 11th.
The Spanish Grand Tour in 2022 will see the participation of 23 teams: 18 World Tour Teams, 2 Pro Teams and 3 wildcards, awarded to 3 Spanish teams. There will be 21 stages with 180 riders, passing through 30 cities – from an initial outing in the Netherlands through to the main race in Spain.
La Vuelta Virtual enables riders to take in virtual views in the regions of Andalusia, Malaga, Extremadura and the Netherlands (where the first three stages take place).
la vuelta virtual race schedule
- Aug 19 | Stage 1 – Utrecht / NL | 15.4 km | TT
- Aug 20 | Stage 2 – Elst / NL | 26 km
- Aug 21 | Stage 3 – Hoogerheide / NL | 25.8 km
- Aug 23 | Stage 4 – Antoñana | 27.4 km
- Aug 24 | Stage 3 – La Laguna Negra | 25.7 km
- Aug 27 | Stage 20 – Murxido | 14.8 km
- Aug 28 | Stage 11 – Valdepeñas de Jaén | 27.7 km
- Aug 30 | Stage 10 – Alicante | 30 km | TT
- Aug 31 | Stage 11 – Aqua Amarga | 18 km
- Sep 3 | Stage 14 – Sierra de la Pandera | 10 km
- Sep 4 | Stage 15 – Sierra Nevada | 15.2 km
- Sep 6 | Stage 16 – Seville | 33.2 km
- Sep 7 | Stage 17 – Cabeza la Vaca | 23.9 km
- Sep 10 | Stage 20 – Talavera de la Reina | 16 km
- Sep 11 | Stage 21 – Madrid | 24.9 km
Acting as a warm-up, between some stages, cyclists and fans of all fitness levels are invited to ride with pros in a series of non-demanding group rides where all riders are kept together in a pack automatically.
- Aug 25 | Stage 5 – Puerto de Herrera | Group Ride #1
- Sep 1 | Stage 12 – Pico de Los Reales | Group Ride #2
- Sep 8 | Stage 10 – Alicante | Group Ride #3
Group rides start at 19:00 CET. Respective GR leaders from the pros will be announced in due course.
Prizes are presented by ZYCLE, a smart trainer manufacturer from Spain, as well as by ROUVY and Unipublic, the organizer behind La Vuelta.
Prizes include: one voucher for cycling equipment worth €1,000; 10 x La Vuelta cycling jerseys; and 30 x ROUVY annual subscriptions
For every racer – a virtual jersey can be worn by avatars on each stage; with different virtual jerseys to be given out during the virtual series. Prize winners will be selected in random draws.
After a series of qualification races, a grand finale on ZYCLE smart ZBikes will take place at the in-person event in Madrid on September 11th, at the closing stage of La Vuelta.
Along with the qualified finalists, some former pro riders will also join the battle for the crown of the virtual peloton. The stage will be located near the main La Vuelta show stage, so the finalists will be able to show off the power they have in front of spectators.
www.lavuelta.es
www.rouvy.com
www.zycle.eu
