Sardinia’s regional assembly has allocated €7.5 million across 2027 and 2028 to pursue hosting the opening stages of the 2028 Vuelta a España, according to a regional report published on Wednesday.
The proposed start has not been confirmed by La Vuelta. However, La Nuova Sardegna reported that the plan would keep the race on the Italian island for its first three stages, centred on the capital, Cagliari, before a transfer to mainland Spain.
No routes or stage destinations have been disclosed. The €7.5 million has been officially allocated by the regional assembly, but the proposed start still awaits confirmation from the race organiser.
The proposed start would coincide with celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of the birth of the Kingdom of Sardinia, once a constituent nation of the Crown of Aragon, providing a historical link with Spain. The regional government expects the Vuelta’s television coverage to promote the island abroad, with Spain specifically identified as a target market for tourism and commerce.
The Vuelta funding was part of a broader package for events and economic activity. More than €10 million was allocated across 13 event programmes, while €28 million was set aside to support investment by retail and commercial businesses. That support can cover 40% of eligible costs, up to €300,000.
The Vuelta’s expanding foreign-start calendar
If the Sardinian start is approved it will see La Vuelta have a foreign start in all but one year since 2022 where the race started in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Since then, the race has started in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, in 2024 and the Italian city of Turin in 2025. Monaco will host this year’s start, while Denmark has been rumoured for 2027 and Sardinia is proposed for 2028.
The 2026 Vuelta is scheduled to begin in Monaco before travelling through France and Andorra on its way to Spain. Denmark has also been linked with the 2027 start, although that proposal has not been confirmed.
If Denmark hosts the 2027 start and Sardinia hosts the 2028 start, the Vuelta would have five consecutive starts outside Spain between 2024 and 2028. Including the race’s 2022 opening in the Netherlands, the Sardinian proposal would amount to six foreign starts across seven editions.
Sardinia is no stranger to hosting Grand Tours. In 2017, the Italian island hosted its home Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, with three stages beginning in Alghero before the race transferred to Sicily and then the mainland.
The first two stages used hilly routes, followed by a flatter third stage. Despite the terrain, each stage was decided by a sprinter or late attacker, with the pink jersey changing hands during the Giro’s three days on the island.
The island’s domestic cycling programme also expanded this year when the Giro di Sardegna returned in 2026 following a 15-year absence with Soudal-Quickstep duo of Filippo Zana and Gianmarco Garofoli taking the top two spots ahead of MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort’s Alessandro Verre completing the podium.
La Vuelta isn’t the only Grand Tour to have several foreign starts in the last 10 years. The Tour de France has had three since 2022 with another next year as the race starts in the UK with 2029 rumoured to be in Germany, Slovenia and Czechia. The Giro has also been bucking the trend with five foreign starts in the last decade with Croatia and Romania being heavily rumoured to host in 2028 or 2029.
A Vuelta start would bring a men’s Grand Tour back to Sardinia for the first time since 2017, subject to formal confirmation from the organiser.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
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