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Vuelta organizers unveil '06 route

By Agence France Presse
Published: Dec. 14, 2005

The route of the 2006 Vuelta a España was unveiled Wednesday in Madrid with organizers calling for zero tolerance for doping following the recent Roberto Heras doping scandal.

The presentation came only hours after it was reported that Liberty Seguros team president Manuel Pinera had decided to quit his post and would be selling his shares in Active Bay, which runs the team that employed Heras before the 2005 Vuelta champ was confirmed positive for EPO.

Heras, who has protested his innocence and is appealing the decision that led to his sacking, has yet to be suspended for the expected two years by the UCI.

Nevertheless, organizers were keen to keep him off the agenda on Wednesday. Heras's name was not mentioned once, and during the presentation images of the 31-year-old climber appeared only rarely.

Ignacio Ayuso, chairman of Unipublic, which runs the race, called for the fight against doping to intensify.

"It would be insincere of me if I didn't mention the problem of doping," he said. "We have to take (the fight against doping) a stage further. I am 100 percent in agreement with a zero-tolerance policy."

The 2006 Vuelta will begin August 26 with a team time trial leaving from the southern city of Malaga. It will feature only four mountain stages - fewer than usual - and will avoid the Pyrenees altogether. Two individual time trials will also be held before the 3129km race ends September 17 in Madrid.

This year's race saw Heras and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) fight an exciting battle up until the penultimate day. Next year, should Heras be suspended, Menchov will get a clear shot at victory. Other candidates for victory include Alejandro Valverde and fellow Spaniards Carlos Sastre, Francisco Mancebo and Carlos Garcia Quesada.

Stages of the 2006 Vuelta a España

Stage 1, August 26 — Málaga-Málaga, 7.2km
Stage 2, August 27 — Málaga-Córdoba, 167km
Stage 3, August 28 — Córdoba-Almendralejo, 220km
Stage 4, August 29 — Almendralejo-Cáceres, 142km
Stage 5, August 30 — Plasencia-Estación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar, 178km
Stage 6, August 31 — Zamora-León, 155km
Stage 7, September 1 — León-Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada), 148km
Stage 8, September 2 — Ponferrada-Lugo, 173km
Stage 9, September 3 — A Fonsagrada-Alto de La Cobertoria, 206km
September 4 — Rest day
Stage 10, September 5 — Avilés-Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar), 190km
Stage 11, September 6 — Torrelavega (Velódromo Oscar Freire)-Burgos, 165km
Stage 12, September 7 — Aranda de Duero-Guadalajara, 162km
Stage 13, September 8 — Guadalajara-Cuenca, 170km
Stage 14, September 9 — Cuenca-Cuenca, 33km
Stage 15, September 10 — Motilla del Palancar-Factoría Ford (Almussafes), 175km
September 11 — Rest day
Stage 16, September 12 — Almería-Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto, 145km
Stage 17, September 13 — Adra-Granada, 167km
Stage 18, September 14 — Granada-Sierra de la Pandera, 153km
Stage 19, September 15 — Jaén-Ciudad Real, 195km
Stage 20, September 16 — Rivas Vaciamadrid-Rivas Vaciamadrid, 28km
Stage 21, September 17 — Madrid-Madrid, 150km

Total: 3129.2km