Vuelta a España's foreign starts - From Lisbon to Monaco

The 52nd edition of the Vuelta a España marked the first Gran Salida in the race’s history, in neighbouring Portugal, and the capital city of Lisbon.

Danish rider Lars Michaelsen (TVM-Farm Frites) claimed the opening stage ahead of Claudio Chiappucci (Asics-CGA) and Laurent Jalabert (O.N.C.E), with a late surge in the sprint finish on the Estoril Racetrack. It marked the first and only grand tour stage of Michaelsen's career, who was also the winner of Gent-Wevelgem in 1995.

Marcel Wüst (Festina-Lotus) claimed the second stage in the Algarve, having navigated the chaos in a finale which was marred by a significant crash in the final hundred metres, which involved the race leader, Michaelsen. 

Stage 3 also began in the Algarve region, in Loulé, but entered Spain during the stage, which was won once more by the German Marcel Wüst, who sits tenth in the list of all-time Vuelta stage winners with twelve, alongside Domingo Perurena and Alejandro Valverde.

Twelve years after the first foreign start, the Vuelta kicked off in Assen, Netherlands, and the race didn’t enter Spain until the fifth stage, something which the 2025 edition will replicate.

‘Spartacus’, Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) stormed to victory in the opening prologue in Assen, putting 9 seconds into second place, his eternal rival Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Innergetic), in just 4.8km. 

There were a variety of winners in the Dutch opening, with sprint wins for Gerald Ciolek (Milram) and Greg Henderson (Columbia-HTC) winning stages 2 and 3, respectively. 

A visit to Liège, Belgium, for the conclusion of stage 4 followed, where the ‘Gorilla’, Andre Greipel (Columbia-HTC) made his mark, the second of his twenty-two grand tour stage wins. All the while, Cancellara defended the race lead back into Spain for the start of stage 5. 

The city of Nîmes in the Occitanie region of France held the honour of hosting the start of the 2017 edition and offered a variety of stages.

Stage 1 was a team time-trial, which was won by the BMC Racing Team and saw Rohan Dennis take the red jersey. 

Stage 2 was set for a sprinters' showdown in Gruissan, but windy conditions and an attack by Yves Lampaert for Quick-Step Floors in the finale caused a major surprise, holding off the peloton. 

The Belgian team would have won regardless, as Matteo Trentin took the sprint for second, and Lampaert moved into the red jersey. Lampaert would also go on to lead another grand tour, having claimed the opening time trial and yellow jersey in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the 2022 Tour de France.

Stage 3 began in Prades on the cusp of the Southern border, and entered into Andorra for a finish that was won by Vincenzo Nibali, who made a late move with 300 metres to go from a reduced group of nine GC contenders before an impending sprint finish.

2022 was the second time that the Netherlands hosted the start of the Vuelta a España after Assen in 2009, but things weren’t smooth sailing in the build-up. This was because the 2020 edition was set to begin in Utrecht, but due to the pandemic, this was postponed and rescheduled for 2022.

Utrecht wasn’t unfamiliar with hosting the start of a three-week stage race, having hosted the Grand Départ for the 2015 Tour de France.

It was the home team, Jumbo-Visma, who claimed the opening team time-trial in 2022, which saw Robert Gesink pull on the red jersey.

Stages 2 and 3 presented the first opportunities for the sprinters to shine, and it was Sam Bennett who claimed the fourth and fifth Vuelta stages of his career in the colours of BORA-Hansgrohe, beating the likes of Mads Pedersen and Tim Merlier. 

Meanwhile, the red jersey was handed around the Jumbo-Visma team like a carousel with Mike Teunissen and Edoardo Affini, having days in Red, before the team leader, Primož Roglič, was the winner of the first stage in Spain, and took the jersey. 

Lisbon, Portugal, remains the only foreign city to have hosted the start of two Vueltas a España, and the first to host a foreign start, full stop.

The 2024 edition began with an 12km individual time trial and hosted a surprise winner as Captain America, Brandon McNulty, slayed the big name favourites such as Josh Tarling, Primož Roglič and Stefan Küng to claim his second grand tour stage win, adding to his victory in Bergamo in the Tour of Lombardy designed stage of the 2023 Giro.

Kaden Groves navigated the Portuguese hills on stage 2 to continue his impressive streak at the Vuelta, the first of three he would land in the 2024 edition, whilst Wout van Aert’s second place on the stage was enough to see him steal the red jersey from McNulty through bonus seconds.

Like Groves, Van Aert would also win three stages in 2024, and the Belgian star claimed his first in the red jersey winning the sprint finish on the final stage in Portugal, marking the start of a grand tour winning streak, having won a stage in the last three grand tours including the 2025 Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.

The Vuelta kicked off in Italy last year with a furious bunch sprint into Novara, where Jasper Philipsen outkicked Ethan Vernon. The victory marked Philipsen's second opening-stage Grand Tour win of 2025, following his success in Lille, awarding him the first red jersey.

The sprinters fell away on stage 2’s summit finish to Limone Piemonte. There, Jonas Vingegaard made his first definitive mark on the race, romping to victory from a reduced group to seize the leader's jersey, one he would ultimately defend all the way to Madrid.

David Gaudu rolled back the years with a fine sprint finish on stage 3 to Ceres, denying Mads Pedersen, who had dug deep to hang on in the uphill finish. 

Gaudu drew level on time overall with race leader Vingegaard, and the Frenchman would take the red jersey the following stage, which started in Susa, Italy, and transitioned into France, before the Vuelta reached Spain on stage 5.

For the third consecutive edition, the Vuelta a España will begin with a foreign start. Monaco will take centre stage, 17 years after hosting the Grand Départ of the 2009 Tour de France.

Having hosted the start of the Giro d’Italia in 1966, Monaco will make history with this Vuelta by becoming the first city to host the opening stage of all three Grand Tours.

The 2026 Vuelta kicks off with a 9 km individual time trial that will begin near the Monte Carlo Casino, where early gaps could emerge in the general classification.

The race against the clock is followed by the longest stage of the 2026 Vuelta, a 215.2 km hilly route from Monaco to Manosque. There are only two categorised climbs on the route, but the road is rarely flat throughout the stage.

In addition, an uphill drag to the line means it will be a far from straightforward affair for the fast men, and further early gaps could emerge in the overall standings.