Vuelta a Espana 2025 - Prediction stage 1

Saturday August 23rd 2025: Stage 1 -Torino-Reggia die Venaria > Novara (186.7 km, sprint) 

The 80th edition of the Vuelta a Espana starts on Saturday 23rd August in Turin, with a flat stage of 187 kilometres. Which sprinter will take red jersey? This opening stage marks the sixth time the Vuelta begins outside Spain, with Italy hosting the Grand Départ. The route is largely flat, making it one of the few regular (sprint) stages to open the Vuelta in recent memory—a rarity only previously seen in 2007 and 2020.

After rolling out from the historic Reggia di Venaria, the peloton faces smooth roads with one categorized climb and an intermediate sprint. The third-category climb, La Serra, arrives after roughly 64km and stretches for about 6.4km at an average gradient of 5.3%. The summit comes with 110km left, making it unlikely to have a decisive effect on the overall stage, though it will determine the first holder of the mountains jersey.

An intermediate sprint is located in Valdengo at the 96km mark. With the majority of the route on flat or gentle terrain, teams focused on sprint finishes will work to control the pace and bring their sprinters into position for the finale.

The concluding kilometers into Novara are expected to be fast and technical, with the final 3km gently descending to the finish. As all riders start the race fresh, a bunch sprint is the most probable scenario, with team positioning being crucial in the hectic run-in. For the general classification hopefuls, keeping clear of trouble and avoiding time splits will be the principal goal on day one. Small time gaps may occur due to splits or crashes in the crowded finale, so focus and teamwork throughout the run-in to Novara will be important to avoid losing early seconds

📺Eurosport 1 (12:45 u), Sporza (16:20 u)
⏰13.22 u
🏁17.30 u
⛅️Chance of rain, light wind, 26 degrees