Águeda on the Tour of Portugal cycling route

Montejunto "replaces" Senhora da Graça as the final mountain stage of the Tour of Portugal, with the 86th edition featuring a profoundly revamped route, designed almost exclusively for climbers, featuring six uphill finishes. Celebrated by the Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, the Montejunto finish reappears with impact on the route of the calendar's crowning event, returning 42 years later to help determine the overall standings, which will be determined after the traditional final time trial, which concludes the 1,581-kilometer race from Maia to Lisbon, between August 6th and 17th. In its fourth appearance on the Volta a Portugal route, unveiled today in Lisbon and unsuitable for sprinters, this first-category climb dethrones Senhora da Graça, the final stop of the penultimate stage since 2021. It wasn't the special edition (2020), which was shorter and held in October due to COVID-19, and even had to go back to 2017 to avoid this in the regular format of the race. This is the major novelty of a route geared towards climbers and sprinters, which begins with a 3.4-kilometer prologue in Maia, a city returning to the route 23 years later. There are other highlights, such as the unprecedented finish at Sameiro in the first stage, where the finish line coincides with a second-category mountain climb, after a 162.3-kilometer journey from Viana do Castelo, which includes a double ascent to this sanctuary. Known as the "living room" of Minho, Fafe (and its steep cobblestone streets) hosts the finish of the second stage, which departs from Felgueiras, covers 167.9 kilometers, and passes through the famous dirt jump made famous by the Rally of Portugal. As the final stage of the third stage and the starting point of the fourth, Bragança hosts the finish line of the Vuelta for the 21st time, in this case the longest stage of this edition, 185.2 kilometers from Boticas. This stage is preceded, some 40 kilometers before, by the first-category Serra da Nogueira crossing. The following day (8th), the peloton will climb Senhora da Graça, with the first category of Alvão preceding the one installed at the finish line, in a fourth stage in which the candidates to succeed the Russian Artem Nych in the winners' list must respond presently, before having a more relaxed journey, on the link between Lamego and Viseu, where the cyclists will "rest", on August 12th. The caravan returns to the road in Águeda, the city that hosted the prologue in 2024, for the start of the sixth stage, which ends again uphill, on the always challenging cobblestones of Guarda. The finish line coincides with a third-class stage, preceded by two others in the same category and two second-class stages, the first of which is at Moinho do Pisco, just at kilometer 19.4 of the 175.2 to be covered on the day. After reaching the highest city in the country, the peloton ascends to the highest point in mainland Portugal, with the always demanding climb to Torre, the only special-category stage in all editions of the Vuelta, appearing in all its splendor on the seventh stage (day 10) – 20.1 kilometers of climbing from Covilhã, along the Penhas da Saúde slope, culminating in 179.3 kilometers from Sabugal. On an 11-stage journey from the North to the outskirts of Lisbon - this edition avoids the always exhausting, hot and fruitless incursions into the Alentejo and Algarve -, the caravan faces its biggest journey so that Ferreira do Zêzere can debut at the start of the eighth stage (day 11), which ends in Santarém, absent from the Volta a Portugal for more than 30 years. The Western region, the birthplace of greats such as Joaquim Agostinho and João Almeida, the two best Portuguese mountain bikers of all time, takes center stage in the ninth stage (day 11), which will connect Alcobaça to Serra de Montejunto, in Cadaval, over a distance of 174.4 kilometers. Passing through some of the region's most iconic locations, the journey will pay tribute to Agostinho, passing through the city of Torres Vedras, before the first category finish will make the penultimate selection among the candidates, who will face the ultimate test in the flat 16.7-kilometer time trial starting and finishing at Praça do Império. For now, there will be 15 teams, including the three from the Aveiro region (Anicolor/Tien21, Feirense-Beeceler and Gi Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO), that will fight for glory in the 86th Volta a Portugal, with Caja Rural being the only ProTeam present - the “regulars” Euskaltel-Euskadi, Burgos-BH and Kern Pharma this year are not coming, as is Vorarlberg, of the 2023 winner and runner-up last year, the Swiss Colin Stüssi.

The stages of the 86th Tour of Portugal by bicycle: August 6, Prologue Maia-Maia (3.4 km time trial); August 7, 1st Stage Viana do Castelo-Braga/Sameiro (162.3 km); August 8, 2nd Stage Felgueiras-Fafe (167.9 km); August 9, 3rd Stage Boticas-Bragança (185.2 km); August 10, 4th Stage Bragança-Mondim de Basto/Senhora da Graça (182.9 km); August 11, 5th Stage Lamego-Viseu (155.5 km); August 12, rest day; August 13, 6th Stage Águeda-Guarda (175.2 km); August 14, 7th Stage Sabugal-Covilhã/Torre (179.3 km); August 15, 8th Stage Ferreira do Zêzere-Santarém (178.2 km); August 16, 9th Stage Alcobaça-Montejunto (174.4 km); and August 17, 10th Stage Lisbon-Lisbon (16.7 km time trial).

Montejunto "replaces" Senhora da Graça as the final mountain stage of the Tour of Portugal, with the 86th edition featuring a profoundly revamped route, designed almost exclusively for climbers, featuring six uphill finishes. Celebrated by the Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, the Montejunto finish reappears with impact on the route of the calendar's crowning event, returning 42 years later to help determine the overall standings, which will be determined after the traditional final time trial, which concludes the 1,581-kilometer race from Maia to Lisbon, between August 6th and 17th. In its fourth appearance on the Volta a Portugal route, unveiled today in Lisbon and unsuitable for sprinters, this first-category climb dethrones Senhora da Graça, the final stop of the penultimate stage since 2021. It wasn't the special edition (2020), which was shorter and held in October due to COVID-19, and even had to go back to 2017 to avoid this in the regular format of the race. This is the major novelty of a route geared towards climbers and sprinters, which begins with a 3.4-kilometer prologue in Maia, a city returning to the route 23 years later. There are other highlights, such as the unprecedented finish at Sameiro in the first stage, where the finish line coincides with a second-category mountain climb, after a 162.3-kilometer journey from Viana do Castelo, which includes a double ascent to this sanctuary. Known as the "living room" of Minho, Fafe (and its steep cobblestone streets) hosts the finish of the second stage, which departs from Felgueiras, covers 167.9 kilometers, and passes through the famous dirt jump made famous by the Rally of Portugal. As the final stage of the third stage and the starting point of the fourth, Bragança hosts the finish line of the Vuelta for the 21st time, in this case the longest stage of this edition, 185.2 kilometers from Boticas. This stage is preceded, some 40 kilometers before, by the first-category Serra da Nogueira crossing. The following day (8th), the peloton will climb Senhora da Graça, with the first category of Alvão preceding the one installed at the finish line, in a fourth stage in which the candidates to succeed the Russian Artem Nych in the winners' list must respond presently, before having a more relaxed journey, on the link between Lamego and Viseu, where the cyclists will "rest", on August 12th. The caravan returns to the road in Águeda, the city that hosted the prologue in 2024, for the start of the sixth stage, which ends again uphill, on the always challenging cobblestones of Guarda. The finish line coincides with a third-class stage, preceded by two others in the same category and two second-class stages, the first of which is at Moinho do Pisco, just at kilometer 19.4 of the 175.2 to be covered on the day. After reaching the highest city in the country, the peloton ascends to the highest point in mainland Portugal, with the always demanding climb to Torre, the only special-category stage in all editions of the Vuelta, appearing in all its splendor on the seventh stage (day 10) – 20.1 kilometers of climbing from Covilhã, along the Penhas da Saúde slope, culminating in 179.3 kilometers from Sabugal. On an 11-stage journey from the North to the outskirts of Lisbon - this edition avoids the always exhausting, hot and fruitless incursions into the Alentejo and Algarve -, the caravan faces its biggest journey so that Ferreira do Zêzere can debut at the start of the eighth stage (day 11), which ends in Santarém, absent from the Volta a Portugal for more than 30 years. The Western region, the birthplace of greats such as Joaquim Agostinho and João Almeida, the two best Portuguese mountain bikers of all time, takes center stage in the ninth stage (day 11), which will connect Alcobaça to Serra de Montejunto, in Cadaval, over a distance of 174.4 kilometers. Passing through some of the region's most iconic locations, the journey will pay tribute to Agostinho, passing through the city of Torres Vedras, before the first category finish will make the penultimate selection among the candidates, who will face the ultimate test in the flat 16.7-kilometer time trial starting and finishing at Praça do Império. For now, there will be 15 teams, including the three from the Aveiro region (Anicolor/Tien21, Feirense-Beeceler and Gi Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO), that will fight for glory in the 86th Volta a Portugal, with Caja Rural being the only ProTeam present - the “regulars” Euskaltel-Euskadi, Burgos-BH and Kern Pharma this year are not coming, as is Vorarlberg, of the 2023 winner and runner-up last year, the Swiss Colin Stüssi.

The stages of the 86th Tour of Portugal by bicycle: August 6, Prologue Maia-Maia (3.4 km time trial); August 7, 1st Stage Viana do Castelo-Braga/Sameiro (162.3 km); August 8, 2nd Stage Felgueiras-Fafe (167.9 km); August 9, 3rd Stage Boticas-Bragança (185.2 km); August 10, 4th Stage Bragança-Mondim de Basto/Senhora da Graça (182.9 km); August 11, 5th Stage Lamego-Viseu (155.5 km); August 12, rest day; August 13, 6th Stage Águeda-Guarda (175.2 km); August 14, 7th Stage Sabugal-Covilhã/Torre (179.3 km); August 15, 8th Stage Ferreira do Zêzere-Santarém (178.2 km); August 16, 9th Stage Alcobaça-Montejunto (174.4 km); and August 17, 10th Stage Lisbon-Lisbon (16.7 km time trial).

Montejunto "replaces" Senhora da Graça as the final mountain stage of the Tour of Portugal, with the 86th edition featuring a profoundly revamped route, designed almost exclusively for climbers, featuring six uphill finishes. Celebrated by the Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, the Montejunto finish reappears with impact on the route of the calendar's crowning event, returning 42 years later to help determine the overall standings, which will be determined after the traditional final time trial, which concludes the 1,581-kilometer race from Maia to Lisbon, between August 6th and 17th. In its fourth appearance on the Volta a Portugal route, unveiled today in Lisbon and unsuitable for sprinters, this first-category climb dethrones Senhora da Graça, the final stop of the penultimate stage since 2021. It wasn't the special edition (2020), which was shorter and held in October due to COVID-19, and even had to go back to 2017 to avoid this in the regular format of the race. This is the major novelty of a route geared towards climbers and sprinters, which begins with a 3.4-kilometer prologue in Maia, a city returning to the route 23 years later. There are other highlights, such as the unprecedented finish at Sameiro in the first stage, where the finish line coincides with a second-category mountain climb, after a 162.3-kilometer journey from Viana do Castelo, which includes a double ascent to this sanctuary. Known as the "living room" of Minho, Fafe (and its steep cobblestone streets) hosts the finish of the second stage, which departs from Felgueiras, covers 167.9 kilometers, and passes through the famous dirt jump made famous by the Rally of Portugal. As the final stage of the third stage and the starting point of the fourth, Bragança hosts the finish line of the Vuelta for the 21st time, in this case the longest stage of this edition, 185.2 kilometers from Boticas. This stage is preceded, some 40 kilometers before, by the first-category Serra da Nogueira crossing. The following day (8th), the peloton will climb Senhora da Graça, with the first category of Alvão preceding the one installed at the finish line, in a fourth stage in which the candidates to succeed the Russian Artem Nych in the winners' list must respond presently, before having a more relaxed journey, on the link between Lamego and Viseu, where the cyclists will "rest", on August 12th. The caravan returns to the road in Águeda, the city that hosted the prologue in 2024, for the start of the sixth stage, which ends again uphill, on the always challenging cobblestones of Guarda. The finish line coincides with a third-class stage, preceded by two others in the same category and two second-class stages, the first of which is at Moinho do Pisco, just at kilometer 19.4 of the 175.2 to be covered on the day. After reaching the highest city in the country, the peloton ascends to the highest point in mainland Portugal, with the always demanding climb to Torre, the only special-category stage in all editions of the Vuelta, appearing in all its splendor on the seventh stage (day 10) – 20.1 kilometers of climbing from Covilhã, along the Penhas da Saúde slope, culminating in 179.3 kilometers from Sabugal. On an 11-stage journey from the North to the outskirts of Lisbon - this edition avoids the always exhausting, hot and fruitless incursions into the Alentejo and Algarve -, the caravan faces its biggest journey so that Ferreira do Zêzere can debut at the start of the eighth stage (day 11), which ends in Santarém, absent from the Volta a Portugal for more than 30 years. The Western region, the birthplace of greats such as Joaquim Agostinho and João Almeida, the two best Portuguese mountain bikers of all time, takes center stage in the ninth stage (day 11), which will connect Alcobaça to Serra de Montejunto, in Cadaval, over a distance of 174.4 kilometers. Passing through some of the region's most iconic locations, the journey will pay tribute to Agostinho, passing through the city of Torres Vedras, before the first category finish will make the penultimate selection among the candidates, who will face the ultimate test in the flat 16.7-kilometer time trial starting and finishing at Praça do Império. For now, there will be 15 teams, including the three from the Aveiro region (Anicolor/Tien21, Feirense-Beeceler and Gi Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO), that will fight for glory in the 86th Volta a Portugal, with Caja Rural being the only ProTeam present - the “regulars” Euskaltel-Euskadi, Burgos-BH and Kern Pharma this year are not coming, as is Vorarlberg, of the 2023 winner and runner-up last year, the Swiss Colin Stüssi.

The stages of the 86th Tour of Portugal by bicycle: August 6, Prologue Maia-Maia (3.4 km time trial); August 7, 1st Stage Viana do Castelo-Braga/Sameiro (162.3 km); August 8, 2nd Stage Felgueiras-Fafe (167.9 km); August 9, 3rd Stage Boticas-Bragança (185.2 km); August 10, 4th Stage Bragança-Mondim de Basto/Senhora da Graça (182.9 km); August 11, 5th Stage Lamego-Viseu (155.5 km); August 12, rest day; August 13, 6th Stage Águeda-Guarda (175.2 km); August 14, 7th Stage Sabugal-Covilhã/Torre (179.3 km); August 15, 8th Stage Ferreira do Zêzere-Santarém (178.2 km); August 16, 9th Stage Alcobaça-Montejunto (174.4 km); and August 17, 10th Stage Lisbon-Lisbon (16.7 km time trial).