La Vuelta a Espana 2014 on British Eurosport & ITV4

The world’s best riders head to Spain for the final UCI Grand Tour of the 2014 season and cycling fans can follow all the action throughout the three-week race on British Eurosport and ITV4.

La Vuelta is a race that has been historically dominated by the home riders, with nearly half of the previous races being won by Spaniards, though last year saw a surprise win for Radioshack’s American rider Chris Horner, who became the oldest winner of a Grand Tour at the age of 41.

With the likes of Eddie Merckx, Tony Rominger and Alberto Contador among the previous winners of the third and final Grand Tour of the year, La Vuelta is only preceded by the Tour de France in terms of prestige.

The 2014 edition of the race will be made up of six flat stages, six rolling hill stages, six mountain stages, one team-trial stage, and two individual time-trial stages, which all add up to a total distance of over 3,000km.

E expect to see the biggest names in cycling compete in the 2014 edition of the race, with the likes of Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez, as well as Rigoberto Uran, Andrew Talansky and Nairo Quintana, all set to line-up for the opening stage in Jerez on August 23.

Contador will ride his home race after all, having recovered from the injury which ended his Tour de France challenge prematurely last month. 

The Spaniard initially ruled himself out, having broken his shin bone, but the two-time Tour and two-time Vuelta winner posted a video on Twitter confirmed that he had reversed his decision as he was fit to ride.

Contador’s return further boosts what looks like being an exciting field for the Vuelta, with last year’s Tour de France winner Chris Froome also set to make his return.

This follows the Briton’s disappointing early exit from the Tour, when a crash on stage four, in which he sustained a significant hand and wrist injury, ended up being the catalyst to his abandonment from the race a day later on the formidable cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix course.

Froome finished second in the Vuelta back in 2011, missing out to Juan Jose Cobo in the general classification, and will be hoping to go one better in Spain, without having taken in the physical exertion and exhaustion from completing another gruelling Tour.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish will not to return to action at the Vuelta following his crash during the opening stage of the Tour de France in Harrogate, though fellow British representation in the race alongside Froome comes from his Team Sky team-mates Peter Kennaugh and Luke Rowe.

The 69th edition of La Vuelta, which starts with a team time trial in Jerez on Saturday, August 23, will also not end in Madrid for the first time since 1993, instead concluding with a 10km time trial in Santiago de Compostela.

Fewer summit finishes will feature in this year’s race compared to 2013’s climb-laden epic, but any general classification hopefuls will have still have to contend with eight mountain-top finales.

A thrilling conclusion to the UCI Grand Tour season is all set to unfold across Spain over three gruelling weeks and you can follow all the twists and turns of the 2014 La Vuelta a Espana on British Eurosport and ITV4.

British Eurosport will be the only place to watch all 21 stages live during the 2014 La Vuelta a Espana.

Live coverage will be shown across British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2, as well as in high-definition, plus there will be extended highlights shows every evening.

Commentary on every stage comes from Carlton Kirby and 1988 Vuelta a Espana winner Sean Kelly.

Live online streaming of British Eurosport’s coverage can be accessed via Eurosport Player (subscription required), plus there will also be additional reports and features via the British Eurosport cycling website.

ITV Sport will broadcast nightly free-to-air highlights of the 2014 Vuelta a Espana on ITV4 as the channel follows the progress of the final Grand Tour of the year.

It is the fourth consecutive year that the channel has broadcast the race and it will air a one-hour highlights programme covering each stage of the race, predominantly at 7.00pm.

Gary Imlach will present coverage alongside a selection of studio guests for the 21-stage event, including UCI Grand Tour veteran Jens Voigt and Roger Hammond, which starts in Jerez de la Frontera on Saturday, August 23 and ends in Santiago de Compostela on Sunday September 14.

Sharing commentary duties for ITV Sport will be the legendary Phil Liggett, Anthony McCrossan and Graham Jones, while reporter Matt Rendell will conduct interviews with the key riders and provide regular updates from the roadside.

ITV.com will simulcast the highlights programmes and they will also be available to watch via the channel’s catch-up service ITV Player.

.

.

.