On a crisp morning in Montevideo the caravan will roll out at 9: 15 from the explanada of the Intendencia de Montevideo toward Parque Capurro, and with that start the 81st edition of a race that will thread across uruguay for 11 days. One hundred thirty-four riders representing 24 teams will face a route that opens with a 135-kilometer first stage finishing in San José de Mayo after a circuit in the capital maragata.
What is the schedule of the Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay?
The event is planned as an 11-day race that crosses much of the country. Published stage lists include the first eight stages with precise distances: Stage 1 — Montevideo to San José (about 135. 5 km); Stage 2 — San José to Paso de los Toros (198. 7 km); Stage 3 — Paso de los Toros to Mercedes (180 km); Stage 4 — Nuevo Berlín to Salto (199. 1 km); Stage 5 — Salto to Paysandú (116. 1 km); Stage 6 — Paysandú to Tacuarembó (174. 6 km); Stage 7A — Melo to Río Branco (84. 5 km); Stage 7B — individual time trial at Lago Merín (19. 4 km); Stage 8 — Cebollatí to Rocha (168. 2 km).
The total distance of the route is presented in two close figures across preparatory materials: one count lists 1, 783. 8 kilometers and another lists about 1, 777 kilometers. The itinerary will take the peloton through 15 departments and includes two stages that approach 200 kilometers, a configuration that organizers say makes this one of the longest editions in the race’s history.
Who is organizing and supporting the race?
A newly formed organizing committee has center stage for this edition, with the Comité Olímpico Uruguayo playing a prominent role in logistics and in helping secure sponsorship that can support both the Vuelta and the future departures of national selections. Daniel Gutiérrez, vice president of the Federación Ciclista Uruguaya, described the Olympic committee’s involvement as key to logistics and sponsorship efforts, and noted substantial backing from municipal governments keen to receive the race, including a return to Salto after a long absence.
The presentation gathered national sporting authorities, with the presence of Fernando Ucha of the Comité Olímpico Uruguayo, Alejandro Pereda from the National Sports Secretariat, and Pablo Quintana, president of the Federación Ciclista Uruguaya, among others. The race will field 24 teams, three of them from abroad, and the competition includes the malla oro—this edition celebrates the gold jersey’s 75th anniversary as the emblem of the overall leader.
How does the Vuelta’s history shape expectations along the route?
The Vuelta arrives to towns that carry the memory of past champions and long traditions. The race has produced household names in national cycling: the early triumph of Leandro Noli, the era of Atilio François and the multiple victories of Walter Moyano, and the modern record held by Federico Moreira. Recent winners highlighted in materials for this edition include Agustín Alonso, Jorge Giacinti, Juan Caorsi and the reigning champion Anderson Maldonado, who comes to this edition after a recent success in Rutas de América.
That lineage and the presence of the 75-year-old gold jersey give extra weight to stage victories and to the general classification. Organizers have designed a suite of demanding stages—long distances, a short high-speed day on route 26, and a late-stage time trial—that can quickly reshape the leaderboard and reward both endurance and time-trialing skill.
Back on the Montevideo quay where the race began, spectators will watch riders file out of the neutral zone and into open road. The caravan will thread through coastal towns and inland departments, and for communities from Salto to Rocha the Vuelta is both competition and celebration. As the kilometers add up and the malla oro changes shoulders, the race will continue to bind roads, riders and towns across uruguay, leaving questions about who will rise in the decisive trio of stages and who will take home a jersey that is part of the country’s sporting fabric.
