PREVIEW | Vuelta a Burgos 2025 - Can Isaac del Toro win over Giulio Ciccone, Egan Bernal and Mikel Landa?
Cycling
From the 5th to the 9th of August we have on the road what is potentially the single most important preparation race ahead of the Vuelta a España. The Vuelta a Burgos takes the riders through the hilly and mountainous terrain necessary to prepare for the final Grand Tour of the season whilst also helping the riders adapting to the weather conditions. We preview the race ahead.
Stage 1: Olmillos de Sasamón - Burgos (Castillo), 204.6 kilometers
The race starts off as usual with a finale in Burgos, an explosive one that fits quite a lot of riders and can provide surprises. Stage 1 is the longest day of the race and a rolling one, beginning in the town of Olmillos de Sasamón.
The riders don't face a lot of climbing throughout the day but the final hour of racing will see quite a few hilltops where the pace will be high and difficult to follow. The fight for positioning into the final climb will be intense and on rolling roads.
The finale into the city castle is an iconic one in the race, averaging 900 meters at 5% but maximum gradients that are quite superior to that. We could see a sprint between puncheurs and the GC riders but a late attack can also succeed as it has in the past.
Stage 2: Cillereuelo de Abajo - Buniel, 161.6 kilometers
The second stage of the race is the one that suits the sprinters the best and it's difficult to argue that we will not have a bunch sprint deciding the outcome of this stage. It will be a long day through northwestern Spain...
The stage starts in the town of Cilleruelo de Abajo and finishes in Buniel, with a few rolling hills along the way but a flat - even slightly downhill - finale that will be to the delight of the fast finishers.
Stage 3: Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardenña - Valpuesta, 184.8 kilometers
Stage 3 of the race is a day that is not easy to predict or control. The organizers have decided to put in a difficult mountain stage but with the climbs far from the finish, which could create some interesting race scenarios.
Leaving Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña the riders will find mostly flat roads but this will change in the final third of the stage. There will be three small but steep climbs inside the final 55 kilometers before the main ascent of the day which will contribute to the fatigue and potentially set the terrain for attacks.
The main climb will be that of Puerto de Orduña, 8.1 kilometers at 7.3% which finish with 22 kilometers to go. It's a hard climb where differences can be made, but the issue is that after a small descent there are a lot of flat kilometers where the attacks may not stop. It should be a tactical finale, with a small uphill drag to the line in Valpuesta can also prove to be quite interesting.
Stage 4: Doña Santos - Regumiel de la Sierra, 162.7 kilometers
Stage 4 of the race is a hilly day and one that is hard to predict. The 162-kilometer long course from Doña Santos to Regumiel de la Sierra is potentially one for a breakaway as it should be hard to control and there won't be 'riders to beat' on the day.
The start features plenty small climbs where the strong rouleurs and classics specialists can make the difference, and later on there will be a few explosive climbs to tackle before the finish.
This includes a 4-kilometer ascent at 5% that ends with just under 15Km to go and then a short uphill pitch of 1.5Km at 6.3% that ends with 10.8Km to go. After a small descent the last aproximately 5 kilometers are flat, where it is still possible to organize for a small peloton sprint if this is the scenario that a few teams work hard for.
Stage 5: Quintana del Pidio - Lagunas de Neila, 138.3 kilometers
The race finishes atop the Lagunas de Neila, a name that is attached to the race as much as any climb is with other races. The day is only 138 kilometers long and features a flat start so the riders will not take a long time before they reach their main obstacles.
Although this is by no means an easy day on the bike, and this year there is a significant difficulty before the summit finish. With only 22 kilometers to the finish the riders see the end of a 3.3-kilometer long ascent that averages almost 10%. It's descent leads straight into the base of the final climb.
Lagunas de Neila is a climb that in total is around 11 kilometers long however only the final 6.4 are categorized. But these are very difficult, averaging over 9% and featuring some pretty rough ramps that every year make for large gaps. A day for the pure climbers and also the one where the overall classification is likely to be decided.
Prediction Vuelta a Burgos 2025 overall classification:
*** Isaac del Toro, Giulio Ciccone
** Egan Bernal, Giulio Pellizzari
* Mikel Landa, Lennard Kämna, Urko Berrade, Juan Pedro López, Mathys Rondel, Davide Piganzzoli, Damiano Caruso, Rainer Kepplinger, Damien Howson, Harold Martín López, Lorenzo Fortunato, Wout Poels, Jai Hindley, Igor Arrieta, Nairo Quintana, Javier Romo
** Egan Bernal, Giulio Pellizzari
* Mikel Landa, Lennard Kämna, Urko Berrade, Juan Pedro López, Mathys Rondel, Davide Piganzzoli, Damiano Caruso, Rainer Kepplinger, Damien Howson, Harold Martín López, Lorenzo Fortunato, Wout Poels, Jai Hindley, Igor Arrieta, Nairo Quintana, Javier Romo
Pick: Isaac del Toro
Original: Rúben Silva
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 39visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment