PREVIEW | Vuelta a Espana 2023 stage 21 - Final opportunity for the sprinters, as Jumbo-Visma complete historic achievement
Cycling
Preview. Jumbo-Visma will win their third Grand Tour of the season and with the third different rider. Hence, stage 21 of the Vuelta a Espana will be a celebration day, whilst the sprinters will fight for one final stage win.
The race finally reaches it's end, into Madrid. A short flat day with no difficulties, it will be a big reward for the fast men who've survived a brutal race to make it into Madrid.
Stage 21: Hipódromo de la Zarzuela - Madrid. Paisaje de la Luz, 100.7 kilometers
The day will see the peloton ride into the city where they will tackle a 5.8-kilometer circuit a total of nine times. The riders will have an 180 degree turn with 3.5 kilometers to go and a sharp right hander with 2.4 which will be natural selection points, with the bunch stretching out. The final straight will be 1.1 kilometers long after a long roundabout, with the bunch sprint set to be a regular one, hopefully with no crashes in sight.
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Stage 21 Finale
The Weather
Map Vuelta a Espana 2023 stage 21
Rain early in the afternoon should make the roads wet and sketchy. Not ideal safety wise. The wind will also blow, meaningfully from the southwest, a tailwind sprint will be in place.
The Favourites
Kaden Groves - Maybe the fastest man in the race, but that doesn't mean in any way he's the man to beat. A sprint is much more than the watts, Groves has the points classification safe, but he will want to take a third win to wrap off the race perfectly - although it will not be easy with a few leadout men missing.
Juan Sebastián Molano - Having missed the opportunity on stage 19, Molano and Rui Oliveira will be trying to work as perfectly as they did in the second week to net another stage win. It can work, the tailwind sprint is well suited to the Colombian.
Filippo Ganna - Also well suited to Ganna I would say. He has the sprint to win in a day like this with this field. INEOS rode the finale of stage 19 perfectly and have a set leadout. Adding to this a tailwind sprint, where the big powerhouse riders will have some sort of advantage, we could see him take his first World Tour sprint win.
Alberto Dainese - But riders can come from behind. Ganna knows this perfectly, Alberto Dainese missed several sprints at the Vuelta, but as was the case in other Grand Tours, at times he shows up and is in perfect position. It could happen again, although Team DSM-Firmenich had several riders go down in the leadout yesterday.
The field will be present and it is the last sprint opportunity. It can be a glorious day for other outsiders, as Geoffrey Soupe has already proven. Edward Theuns and Marijn van den Berg have the speed to take a win in this field, but there will be other riders that, if all the pieces of the puzzle fit, can also take a very important victory.
Here I would include Hugo Hofstetter, Ivan García Cortina, Hugo Page, Boy van Poppel, Dries van Gestel, Andrea Vendrame, Lewis Askey and Davide Cimolai.
Prediction Vuelta a Espana 2023 stage 21:
*** Kaden Groves, Filippo Ganna
** Juan Sebastián Molano, Alberto Dainese
* Marijn van den Berg, Edward Theuns, Ivan García Cortina, Geoffrey Soupe, Davide Cimolai, Milan Menten
** Juan Sebastián Molano, Alberto Dainese
* Marijn van den Berg, Edward Theuns, Ivan García Cortina, Geoffrey Soupe, Davide Cimolai, Milan Menten
Pick: Filippo Ganna
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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.
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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)...
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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