The Vuelta Reaches Andorra for a 104.8km Stage Four That Is the First Real Test of the General Classification
The 81st Vuelta a Espana started with a time trial in Monaco on 22 August and crosses into Andorra on Tuesday for a short, sharp circuit stage. The race runs to 13 September in Granada.
The 81st Vuelta a Espana reaches Andorra on 25 August for stage four, a 104.8km loop starting and finishing in Andorra la Vella - the shortest road stage of the opening week and the first that can put real time into the general classification.
A Grand Tour that starts abroad
This edition began on 22 August with an individual time trial in Monaco, and crosses four territories before it finishes.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Edition | 81st |
| Countries | Monaco, France, Andorra, Spain |
| Stages | 21 |
| Total distance | 3,310.6km |
| Time trials | 2, both individual |
| Rest days | 31 August and 7 September |
| Finish | 13 September, Granada |
| Teams | 23 (18 WorldTeams, 5 ProTeams) |
Stage three on 24 August ran 174km from Gruissan in the Aude to Font Romeu, the first climbing finish of the race.
Why a short stage is a hard stage
Stage four is barely longer than a long training ride, and that is the point. Circuit stages in Andorra remove the neutralising effect of distance: there is no long valley run-in to close gaps, teams cannot ride tempo for five hours to control a break, and riders who lost time on the Monaco time trial have an obvious place to attack. Short mountain stages have repeatedly produced larger GC gaps than the 200km days that follow them.
What to watch
The opening time trial will have sorted the favourites into a rough order already. Stage four is the first chance for the pure climbers to reverse that, and the first indication of which teams can control a race that still has two and a half weeks and a second time trial to run.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash runs stage winner, top-three and podium finish markets on every Vuelta stage, plus head-to-head rider matchups and first rider to the summit. General classification outrights, points and mountains classification winners, top-10 finish and best young rider markets stay open through the race, and in-play stage prices update as the break goes clear.
Route, distances and race calendar as published by the organisers. Stage four had not been ridden at the time of writing on 25 August 2026, and no general classification standings are quoted here.