The overall speed of racing continues to increase, which means that we have to pay much greater attention to safety

Kiko García, technical director of La Vuelta a España, has been responsible for the planning and sporting organization of one of the world’s leading cycling races for the past 10 years. In this interview, he discusses how professional cycling has evolved, the growing challenge of ensuring rider safety, the main contenders for this year’s edition, and the budget allocated to prize money. He also shares some insights into the future of the race. Interview by Irina Rybalchenko This year, La Vuelta starts in Monaco, a location with a unique international and sporting identity. What does bringing the race to Monaco mean, both symbolically and from a sporting perspective? We start from a different country each time, which means we have to organize everything from scratch and adapt our working methods accordingly. It is a major challenge from a logistical, security and sporting perspective, as well as in terms of the overall organization. At the same time, it is always rewarding to see how different countries express an interest in hosting La Vuelta. Monaco represents an exceptional opportunity. As you know, Monaco is a prestigious location with a long-standing association with sport, particularly Formula 1. It is also home to prominent Spanish sports figures, such as Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz. This means a great deal to us. It is a major responsibility, but also a fantastic opportunity to bring the race to a new setting and open La Vuelta 2026 with an attractive time trial. You have been the technical director of La Vuelta for 10 years. How have the demands of professional cycling changed during this period? Would you say that riders are now better prepared and more advanced both technically and physically? Sport is evolving across the board. If we compare cycling today with cycling 10 or 15 years ago, the difference is clear. Athletes take much better care of themselves, from nutrition and training to every aspect of a healthy lifestyle. All of this has a direct impact on performance. In cycling, we also have to take into account the technological development of the equipment. Wheels are faster, bikes and other equipment are lighter, and aerodynamics have improved significantly. As a result, the overall speed of racing continues to increase, which means that we have to pay much greater attention to safety. We have around 70 people working every day along the route, taking care of signage, safety measures and everything else. We have to ensure that the final kilometres are free of bumps, excessive roundabouts and urban obstacles. It is a very demanding task and a lot of hard work, but unfortunately, we still sometimes see serious accidents. That is why we have to keep working and improving. All of us, the riders, teams, federations and organisers – have to work together to improve safety. What is the maximum speed that riders can reach during the race? It is difficult to say because every road and every descent is different. On a very fast descent, they can easily exceed 100 kilometres per hour. And, as you can see, they have very little protection. Their jerseys are extremely thin, almost like a second skin, and there is very little else to protect them. It is not like MotoGP, where riders wear extensive protective equipment. How many doctors are involved in assisting the teams? From the race organisation, we have three doctors following the race, as well as four ambulances, each with a doctor. In addition, every team has its own doctor. Now let’s talk about names. Which riders do you consider the main favourites? We are very lucky to have Tadej Pogačar at the start this year. He is the big, big, big number one of this generation of cyclists, and it is always a pleasure to have him with us, especially after such a demanding Tour de France. We also have other riders who are arriving in very strong form, such as Richard Carapaz and Primož Roglič, although we will see how strong Roglič will be after the crash he suffered just a couple of weeks ago. Then we have Benoît Naert, the Belgian rider. I am sure he will be ready to win some stages, so we are very happy to have him participating. What do you think will be the main sporting attraction of this Vuelta? What are you expecting? Could we see any surprises? This year is very special because there is not just one day when you can say, “This climb is going to be the hardest.” There are several stages that are really tough. In my opinion, this edition of the Vuelta has surprises all along the route. We have small climbs at the end of stages, a gravel section and different kinds of challenges that can change the race every day. For us, that is the exciting part of the race: anything is possible every day. How old are the youngest and oldest riders in this Vuelta? This has changed a lot over the last 10 years. In the past, it was very difficult to find a strong rider under, let’s say, 27 or 28 years old. But now we have very strong riders who are only 19 or 20. This is a good example of how quickly elite sport is evolving. Progress is faster because nutrition, training and technology are reaching young talents earlier and giving them the opportunity to develop more quickly. That is why we now have so many young riders at the highest level. What is the budget for La Vuelta a España 2026? I can tell you that the prize money is around €1.2 million. This is the amount distributed among the riders. Let’s talk about the Andorran stage. For the first time, the stage in Andorra starts and finishes in the same place. Why was this format chosen, and what does it offer from a sporting point of view? When we receive a request from Andorra to organise a stage, we propose different options. For us, it was important to take into account that an Andorran stage is always demanding because of the climbs. However, Andorra is only the fourth stage, so it was a little too early to have an extremely hard stage. We decided instead to create a stage with four different climbs: Port d’Envalira, Collada de Beixalís, Coll d’Ordino and La Comella. The route is 104.8 kilometres long. And it is only around three hours of racing, right? Yes, but sometimes the shorter stages are the most interesting. Personally, I like these short stages because the riders start attacking from the very beginning. We haven’t seen any Andorran cyclists in La Vuelta yet. Why do you think that is? I think it is just a matter of time. Many professional cyclists now live in Andorra, so I am sure young Andorran cyclists see them training and climbing the mountains every day. Young cyclists here try to follow and imitate these heroes. In a few years, I am sure we will have a strong Andorran cyclist. Sometimes we just have to be patient. I remember that last year you talked about the difficulty of organising police support when the race passes through a different area almost every day. Have you been able to improve coordination with the police? Yes. We start with the Monaco police, then move on to the French and Spanish police. After that, we go to Andorra, where we work with a different police force, and then to Tarragona, in Catalonia, with the Mossos d’Esquadra. In the other regions, we work with the Guardia Civil. This means that during the first week alone, we will work with five different police forces. It is very demanding, but fortunately, the police have extensive experience working on cycling races. Although each police force has its own procedures and operating model, they are all very professional. I am sure they will do a fantastic job of ensuring safety throughout the race. Is there any place, type of stage or concept that you would like to bring to the Vuelta but have not been able to do yet? No, honestly, we are happy with what we are doing. Every year is a new challenge, and we try to introduce new routes, new climbs, new mountains and new finishes. Sometimes it is demanding, but we are happy with that. Each region has its own profile and landscape. When we go to central Spain, for example, to Valladolid or Salamanca, we know that the wind can be a key factor. When we go to Andorra, of course, the mountains are going to be the key factor. So we try to combine all these possibilities across the different stages. That is why I say that, in my opinion, this year we will have a surprise every day, because we have such a variety of stages. Have you already started thinking about the stages of next year’s Vuelta? Yes, of course. We work about two years in advance. So, for next year, not everything has been decided yet, but I would say that around 70–80% of the route is already planned. Will La Vuelta return to Andorra? That’s a good question, but I can’t tell you yet…The post The overall speed of racing continues to increase, which means that we have to pay much greater attention to safety first appeared on All PYRENEES.