TakeVuelta2 days ago
Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España 2026 is now 79.5km shorter and starts more than two hours later, with the neutral start at 14:50 and racing flag at 15:00 instead of 12:35. Organisers cut the entire middle of the route, including the Alto de Villaviciosa de Córdoba climb — this isn't a tweak, it's a different stage. Four hours ago the fix was bottles at the roadside; now it's the parcours itself.
The distance drops from 189.7km to 110.2km after activation of the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol, following a meeting between the Commissaires' Panel, teams, riders and Vuelta management. Losing a categorized climb changes the competitive shape of the day, not just its length. Stage 13 hit 41°C and forced the feeding concessions Hugo Houle described as organisers "working on solutions" — stage 15's 40°C forecast has pushed them from logistics into the route map itself.
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