“A bit less stressful than the Tour de France” – Visma’s most experienced rider looks ahead to potential Vuelta a Espana return in 2026

Team Visma | Lease a Bike were represented by Steven Kruijswijk at the presentation of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana route in Monaco, and for the Dutch climber the unveiling carried an unusually personal edge.

The race will open with a short individual time trial through Monaco itself, roads that Kruijswijk knows intimately.

That familiarity, combined with a route stacked with climbing and extreme heat exposure, immediately shaped his reaction to the parcours.

“It’s rare to have a Grand Tour starting on your doorstep, so it will be very special for me to race on all these roads I’m familiar with. It’s really a big thing to experience,” Kruijswijk said in an official Visma press release. “Overall, the Vuelta is a race I like, it always suited me as a climber, and it’s a bit less stressful than especially the Tour. I hope to be on the start line in August.”

The 2026 edition of Vuelta a Espana offers little in the way of gradual build up. After the Monaco time trial, the race moves quickly into summit finishes and high altitude terrain, with Andorra featuring as early as stage four before the peloton even reaches Spain.

For Visma, that immediate difficulty is a defining feature of the race. The opening week combines hilly transitional stages with decisive climbing, culminating in a demanding ninth stage to Alto de Aitana. There are few opportunities to hide, even for riders not targeting the general classification.

Kruijswijk sees a familiar Vuelta pattern emerging, one where accumulated fatigue is as decisive as individual summit finishes.

“The course looks very challenging. There’s a lot of climbing already in the first week, but then it just continues like that,” he said. “I’ve done a few Vueltas in my career, and I know how tough it can be when we get to the South in those months.”

While the race is unmistakably climber-friendly, the 2026 route places unusual emphasis on racing against the clock. Across the three weeks there will be more than 40 kilometres of time trialling, including a flat opening test and a long coastal effort in the final week.

That balance, combined with the likelihood of extreme heat in southern Spain, is expected to heavily influence team strategy and rider selection across the peloton.

Two stages featuring more than 5,000 metres of climbing stand out as potential breaking points, particularly the penultimate day with the double ascent of Alto de Hazallanas and Collado del Alguacil. With gradients approaching double digits deep into the third week, it is a stage that appears designed to reward only the very strongest climbers.

The race will conclude in Granada, with a circuit featuring repeated climbs to the Alhambra, offering one final opportunity for aggressive racing before the red jersey is decided.

For Visma, and for Kruijswijk personally, the verdict is clear. The Vuelta may be familiar territory, but 2026 offers no soft edges.