2026 Vuelta a España Stage 21 preview | Route change boosts Van Aert as Granada circuit sparks safety debate

And just like that, we have reached the end of the Vuelta a España — and with it, the end of the 2026 Grand Tour season. This time, the race will not conclude in Madrid, but in Granada. The question is whether we will actually get a race or will the race be neutralized? IDL Pro Cycling looks ahead one final time to a Grand Tour stage and would also like to thank all our readers for following our daily previews throughout the three-week stage races this season!

The Vuelta a España will not finish in Madrid. That has nothing to do with the disturbances that forced last year's final stage to be abandoned, but instead with Formula 1 taking over the Spanish capital. As a result, the Vuelta has headed a little farther south this year, with Granada hosting the finale.

The riders will start at a Carrefour before finishing in front of the Alhambra after 99 kilometers — quite a contrast between the beginning and end of the stage. It is, in any case, a very entertaining finishing circuit, with a 1.6-kilometer climb averaging seven percent as its main obstacle. Very Paris-like!

Originally, the finish line was supposed to be at the top of that climb, but Unipublic ultimately decided to move the finish to the foot of the famous tourist attraction. That does not mean the Alhambra climb disappears from the equation: the peloton still has to head uphill toward it four times, with the final passage reaching the top just over seven kilometers from the finish.

The comparison with the current Montmartre circuit in Paris, where Mathieu van der Poel won this year, is therefore an obvious one. Granada also features a highly technical circuit, with the road constantly twisting left and right. Add to that the fact that some riders in the peloton will still be extremely motivated while plenty of others will simply be ready for the race to end, and it could become an unusual finale.

The big question is whether the riders will actually race flat out. Several teams reportedly consider the circuit too dangerous...

Times
Start: 4:20 p.m.
Finish: 7:15 p.m.

Sunday will be hot in Granada, although the conditions should not be unbearable. Temperatures are expected to reach around 32 degrees Celsius. No significant wind or rain is forecast, while the temperature should already begin to fall somewhat by the time the riders reach the finish at approximately 7:15 p.m.

The route adjustment significantly changes the nature of this stage. The finish was originally located at the top of the Alhambra climb — 1.6 kilometers at around 7.5 percent — but it has now been moved to the bottom. That gives the stronger sprinters a much bigger advantage over the more traditional Ardennes-style punchers.

When we look at the stage, Wout van Aert of Visma | Lease a Bike immediately comes to mind. The Dutch team assigned leaders for individual stages before the Vuelta began, and despite the presence of Matthew Brennan, it seems reasonable to expect the Belgian star to get his opportunity this time. Van Aert could take his stage-win total to three, while Brennan would reach an extraordinary six victories if he were to win again.

We have already seen plenty of these kinds of transitional or intermediate stages during this Vuelta, which means we once again arrive at many of the same names. There is no GC rider in this Vuelta in the mould of Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel who looks likely to turn the final stage into a personal prestige project. Richard Carapaz might perhaps be the exception.

No, plenty of riders have already had a close-up view of Van Aert and Brennan winning during this race. Bryan Coquard of Cofidis and Bastien Tronchon of Groupama-FDJ have been the notable exceptions, both managing to take stage victories of their own.

Alessandro Romele (XDS-Astana), Magnus Cort (Uno-X), Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Finn Fisher-Black, Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Vito Braet (Lotto-Intermarché), Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS) have all finished inside the top ten on multiple occasions during this Vuelta. Granada gives every one of them one final opportunity. Will one of them finally get the reward?

Nys has not always felt at his best over the past few days, while the climbing may just be close to the limit for a rider such as Meeus. The others, however, have all shown during this Vuelta that they can handle this kind of uphill terrain and still have enough speed left for the finish.

Top Favorite: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dark horses: Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike), Alessandro Romele (XDS-Astana), Magnus Cort (Uno-X), and Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS)
Long shots: Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Finn Fisher-Black, Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Vito Braet (Lotto-Intermarché), and Leo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM)