Vuelta a Espana will return to Holland in 2015
Vuelta a Espana organisers are planning to return the race to Netherlands and a race start is expected in Holland possibly in the coming three years.
Race Director Javier Guillen briefed to Cyclingnews that the negotiations are underway and the race is expected to mark its return to Holland in 2015.
“We would like to have another start in Holland and it’s a real possibility,” Guillen told Cyclingnews.
“In fact we’ve had a delegation from the ‘Dutch Vuelta commission’ here in this year’s race. But nothing as yet is decided. There’s a long way to go yet”.
“It’s not something you can plan overnight. There’s a lot of logistical considerations, you need time to exploit all the publicity potential for a Netherlands start that such an event can produce”.
“On top of that, 2015 is also a date which suits the Dutch. 2013 and 2014 weren’t so good”.
Vuelta a Espana is the third biggest race of the season and is given the World Tour race status by the UCI, Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia are the only two other Grand Tour races.
The 2012 version of the race is currently underway and cyclists from different corners of the world are participating to prove their skills at the event.
The most important thing about this year’s race is the return of Alberto Contador who has missed the first two Grand Tour events because of his suspension.
He was accused of using performance enhancing drugs at the Tour de France 2010 and the jury handed him a two-year ban earlier in 2012.
Contador was also stripped-off from all his victories since the 2010 edition of the French Grand Tour
The Spaniard returned to competitive cycling at the Eneco Tour where he tested his legs for the Spanish race.
He currently holds the third overall position after the stage 9 classifications with a deficit of 1 minute on the race leader, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha.
Christopher Froome of Team Sky Procycling is 53 seconds behind at the second spot with Alejandro Valverde of Team Movistar and Robert Gesink of Team Rabobank holding the fourth and the fifth positions in the respective order.
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