Vuelta 2026: Prince Albert II attends unveiling of route through Monaco
Prince Albert II at the Vuelta course presentation © Stéphane Renaux - Monaco Tribune
The presentation of the course for the 81st edition of the Tour of Spain was a red letter day in the history of sport in the Principality. The ceremony, held on Saturday 25 October at One Monte-Carlo, officialised the ‘grand départ’ as the Tour will start off in the streets of Monaco on August 22 and 23, 2026.
The route for the first stage of the Vuelta was presented in a magnificent setting, in the innovative new district between the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo and the Place du Casino. It will start off in the streets of the Principality in exactly 300 days’ time. The event confirms Monaco’s status as the world capital of sport in 2025.
An inaugural time trial
Prince Albert II was joined by the Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, the Chairman of the Société des Bains de Mer, Stéphane Valeri, and the event’s General Manager, Javier Guillen. For the many cyclists living in the Principality, what better than to be pushing those pedals in familiar surroundings. One of the season’s three Grand Tours, the Vuelta peloton started off from Turin in Italy this year. In 2026 it will start from the legendary Place du Casino and finish in Port Hercule. It will be time trial of just under 10 kilometres, whose route is very similar to that of the legendary Formula 1 Grand Prix.
“It’s a demanding course, one for the specialists. It’s a fairly short distance. The top riders in the overall ranking won’t be making much of a difference. We’re at the start of a grand tour, so I can really see the big time-trial specialists, people who are used to being in position, who are capable of taking risks and who are really going to go for the win and risk everything,” explained Nicolas Roche, Monaco’s ambassador for the Vuelta, told Monaco Tribune.
“The Principality’s commitment to sport”
This first stage will take in the boulevard des Moulins, Larvotto beach, Louis-II stadium, the emblematic sports ground in the Fontvieille district, and the Princess Grace Rose Garden, the four-hectare landscaped park created in honour of Prince Albert II’s mother. The following day, the second leg will start from the Prince’s Palace, taking in the Oceanographic Museum, then down the Quai Albert I to the Place du Casino, before continuing to France.
After the Giro in 1966, the Tour de France in 2009 and now the Vuelta next summer, Monaco has cemented its appeal in the discipline. “I think that’s beyond question now. The fact that we will be the only city-state to have hosted the start of all three Grand Tours is, I think, a great source of satisfaction,” the Sovereign of the world capital of sport in 2025 told Monaco Tribune . “It is also an illustration of the Principality’s commitment to sport, not only through major events, but also through the results of our athletes. I think it’s fair to say it’s been a very good year. I think we have done justice to the title of world capital of sport,” he added.
Prince Albert II in his closing speech © Stéphane Renaux – Monaco Tribune
Six weeks ago, it was Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard of Team Visma Lease A Bike who triumphed in the streets of the Spanish capital. To find out who will be wearing the red leader’s jersey at the end of the first stage, you’ll have to keep an eye on the same finish line as for the Formula 1 drivers. It will be a first for a Vuelta that promises to be historic.