According to the Spanish newspaper Marca (opens in new tab), an alternate stage has been set for the now-canceled 2020 Vuelta a España to enter Portugal.

The 2020 Vuelta was scheduled to visit Portugal for the first time since it began in 1997.

However, when the Vuelta was postponed from September to late October, organizers were forced to withdraw the idea; the UCI calendar was revised after the season was interrupted by a coronavirus pandemic, and the Tour de France was rescheduled from August 29 to September 20 The Tour de France was rescheduled from August 29 to September 20.

On Wednesday, Marca reported that the start of stage 15 will remain in Moss, the home town of 2006 Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro, but the finish will be in Puebla de Sanabria. The total distance of the stage will be approximately 230 km.

The terrain in the area is very hilly, and the last time the Vuelta visited Puebla de Sanabria in 2016, it ended in a small group sprint won by Jonas Van Gennekten (IAM).

In the same finish, Alberto Contador suffered minor injuries in a high-speed crash on the left curve. Contador was so frustrated by his string of bad luck in the race that year that he threw Bidon to the ground in a fit of rage as he walked from the finish area to the team bus.

Marca reported that stage 16 of the 2020 Vuelta was expected to start in the university city of Salamanca after a long trip south. Ciudad Rodrigo, near the border with Portugal, will be the goal.

Jan Ullrich won the 1999 Vuelta, the only Spanish Grand Tour victory.

On the last visit to Ciudad Rodrigo in 2000, Ullrich's Telekom teammate Alexandre Vinokurov overtook the breakaway of Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Tsente Garcia Acosta (Banesto) in the last kilometer

Cycling.

When contacted by Cycling News, Unipublic, the organizer of the Vuelta, said, "We cannot officially comment at this time."