Presentación del Recorrido de la Etapa ‘Bilbao-Bilbao’ de la Vuelta 25 en Homenaje a Jesús Loroño

Elixabete Etxanobe, General Deputy of Bizkaia; Juan Mari Aburto, Mayor of Bilbao; and Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta, presented today Wednesday the detailed definitive route of the stage ‘Bilbao-Bilbao’, a route that the city and the region will host on September 3.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the City Council of Bilbao have also announced that it will be a stage that will pay tribute to the Vizcaíno cyclist Jesús Loroño, in the year that marks 100 years since his birth (January 10, 1925). Jesús Loroño won the then called La Vuelta a España in 1957, a race that started with a stage between Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz, and ended with another stage of 193 kilometers between Donostia-San Sebastián and Bilbao. During his sports career, Loroño achieved 65 victories in 16 seasons as a professional.

The General Deputy of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, began her speech by thanking the presence at the event of Javier Guillén and the family of Jesús Loroño, wishing «that the stage that will go through Bizkaia on September 3 has the same level as the winner of the 1957 Vuelta«. After recalling the stage of Monte Oiz in 2018 and the start of the Tour from Bilbao in 2023, Etxanobe emphasized that «Bizkaia has shown that it has the capacity to work and organize, and that it will continue to bet on hosting the best events worldwide, such as the Europa League final this 2025 in San Mamés, a successful organization«. Etxanobe concluded by stating that «Bizkaia continues to bet on major events and La Vuelta is one of them. It represents a great opportunity for millions of viewers from the five continents to continue discovering this spectacular territory we have. It is difficult to find a better and more impactful showcase«, she said.

The Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, after thanking the director of La Vuelta for this third occasion in the last decade, highlighted the importance of these events for the city, «as they complement our commitment to hosting cultural initiatives of interest and quality. Events that place us in the national and international sphere of hosting and organizing professional conferences, sector forums, and cultural, musical, or sports events of the highest level«. Aburto also recalled that «La Vuelta, the Tour, the most local cycling events and those shared with other municipalities of the Territory, as well as the expansion of bike lanes, are further evidence of our clear commitment to cycling, in two ways: for its contribution to the health of the population and for the sporting activity that has a great following in Bilbao and, in general, as another sign of Basque identity«.

On the other hand, Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta, emphasized that «in a historic edition in which we celebrate our 90th anniversary, a city as important for La Vuelta as Bilbao could not be missing from the route. Iconic settings such as San Mamés or the Gran Vía will be the epicenter of a spectacular day in Bizkaia. With seven mountain passes, it will be a 100% Basque stage that, with two passes by the finish line, will thrill one of the best cycling fans in the world«.

Josu and Idoia Loroño, children of the honoree Jesús Loroño, were also present at the stage presentation: «The entire Loroño family, children, and grandchildren, are very happy and grateful for the tribute that will be paid to our father in this centenary year of his birth. Our father is one of the great protagonists in the history of La Vuelta and, despite the passing of the years, his feats are still remembered«, emotional Josu Loroño said, on behalf of the family.

157.4 KMS WITH A CLIMB TO SOLLUBE AND PASSING THROUGH LARRABETZU

The stage ‘Bilbao-Bilbao’ will start in the surroundings of the San Mamés stadium at 1:30 p.m. The race will leave Bilbao in a neutralized manner via the Euskalduna Bridge to Loiu, where the start of the stage will be located (1:51 p.m.), then heading to Mungia. Around 2:32 p.m., the cyclists will arrive in Bermeo, passing through Sollube before, a third-category mountain pass with a gradient of 301 meters. The stage includes this climb to the top of Sollube as part of the tribute to Jesús Loroño, as it is at the top of the mentioned mountain where the monument-homage to the legendary cyclist is located.

The stage on September 3 will also pass by the Goikola farmhouse in Larrabetzu around 3:52 p.m., the place where the legendary rider was born.

In addition to Sollube, the stage includes the following mountain passes: Laukiz (183 meters of gradient), Balcón de Bizkaia (235 meters of gradient), Morga (290 meters of gradient), El Vivero (351 meters of gradient, which the cyclists will pass twice) and Pike Bidea (204 meters of gradient).

With a total of 157.4 kilometers, the eleventh stage will pass through the following points in the region of Bizkaia: Arratzu, Basauri, Bilbao, Bermeo, Busturia, Derio, Erandio, Etxebarri, Forua, Galdakao, Gatika, Gernika-Lumo, Larrabetzu, Laukiz, Lezama, Loiu, Mendata, Meñaka, Morga, Mundaka, Mungia, Munitibar-Arbatzegi-Gerrikaitz, Murueta, Muxika, Sondika, Sukarrieta, and Zamudio. The route simulates the route taken in the first stage of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2023, which also started in Bilbao.

The arrival in the capital of Bizkaia is scheduled between 5:20-5:41 p.m., entering through the Euskalduna Bridge and with the finish line located on the Gran Vía of Bilbao (at the height of Gregorio de la Revilla street). It will be the second entry that the cyclists will make into the city, as the first intermediate finish line is scheduled for 4:29 p.m..

The next stage of La Vuelta 25, number 12, will start on September 4 from Laredo.

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF LA VUELTA

La Vuelta 25 will take place from August 23 to September 14, 2025 and will start in Piedmont, at the foot of the mountains and with the Alps as a backdrop; it will be the aforementioned Italian region that will host the first three stages of this edition in full, a special edition of the prestigious cycling race, as it celebrates its 90th anniversary.

Bilbao successfully hosted the finish of the fifth stage of La Vuelta in August 2022 and the start of the sixth stage from San Mamés. Also, against the backdrop of the celebration of the 110th edition of the Tour de France, which also started in Bilbao on July 1, 2023, Bilbao and Bizkaia once again generate synergies and shared work to jointly host the celebration of stage number 11 of La Vuelta 25, within the framework of the strategy to host major sports events.