Spanish newspaper leaks what it says is 2011 Vuelta a España route

The official presentation of the 2011 Vuelta a España will be made by race organiser Unipublic on January 12th. The course will be presented in the Costa Blanca resort town of Benidorm, where the race will begin with a time trial; the shine may have been taken off the occasion though by the Diario de León, a Spanish newspaper, which has leaked what it claims to be the complete race route.

As a regional publication the Diario is most concerned with the days that the race will apparently pass through its home region of León. It goes on to speculate on a number of possible routes to take on stage 16 as it heads to the mountaintop finish at Monte Naranco; the climb’s final 5km average more than 11% and would undoubtedly prove as decisive in the overall classification as the Bola del Mundo was in this year’s race.

In its haste to get the exclusive, the Diario also claims to reveal that the race will be heading to the Basque region of Spain for the first time since 1978. The race has avoided the area ever since due to the threat of terrorist attacks from Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA); the organisation officially declared a ceasefire in September of this year, and the race has apparently now dared to return. There will, claims the Diario, be stages in two of the region’s principle cities of Santander and Bilbao.

The other big news that the Diario has apparently leaked is that the race is to finish in a time trial into Madrid for the first time since 2004. Unipublic is evidently anxious to keep the suspense going right to the end of the race.

All that remains is to wait for the official presentation in January to see whether the Diario de León has genuinely released the route prematurely, thus spoiling the spectacle in Benidorm, or in fact just produced a work of speculation.

Stages of the 2011 Vuelta a España, according to the Diario de León:
Stage 1. Benidorm – Benidorm (ITT)
Stage 2. La Nucia – Orihuela Costa
Stage 3. Petrer – Cartagena
Stage 4. Cartegana – Almeria
Stage 5. Almeria – Sierra Nevada
Stage 6. Granada – La Pandera
Stage 7. Jaen – Málaga
Stage 8. Marbella – Jerez de la Frontera
Stage 9. Jerez de la Frontera – Cordoba
Rest Day
Stage 10. Toledo – Sergovia
Stage 11. Avila – Zamora
Stage 12. Zamora – Laguna de los Peces
Stage 13. Puebla de la Sanabria – Orense
Stage 14. Pontevedra – Pontevedra (ITT)
Stage 15. Lalin – Fonte de Cova
Rest Day
Stage 16. Lugo – Puerto de Ancares
Stage 17. Villablino – Monte Naranco
Stage 18. Oviedo – Santander
Stage 19. Santander – Bilbao
Stage 20. Bilbao – Vitoria
Stage 21. Alcala de Henares – Madrid (ITT)