Vuelta a Castilla y León (2.1)

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 1: 1909 - 1970 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

The race:

The Vuelta a Castilla y León started as a nearly season-long series of Spanish bicycle races.

Castilla y León is a landlocked Spanish "autonomous community" in northwest Spain, bordering on Portugal.

When pro racing underwent the Pro-Tour reorganization in 2005, the Vuelta a Castilla y León occured at the end of April, conflicting with both the Pro-Tour ranked Tour of Romandie and the just-to-begin Giro d'Italia. Only lower-ranked Professional Continental teams who were obligated to race Pro Tour races competed in the Spanish race.

The race also has had financial problems and difficulty attracting television coverage. Now (2021) the race is run in late July and attracts a stellar field.

Note: the race was run in May in 2017.

It is currently held in late July.

In 2023 the race had just two stages and in 2024 it was run as a single-stage competition.