2011 Vuelta a España Vuelta announced on 8 September that the 2012 event will start in the Navarrese city of Pamplona. "For details see 2011 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and 2011 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21" The Vuelta began with a team time trial in Benidorm. The squad won this stage. Danish General Classification contender Jakob Fuglsang passed the finish line as first and was the first cyclist to wear the red leaders jersey. Fuglsang lost the leaders jersey after just one day to team-mate Daniele Bennati in a sprinter's stage which was won by Christopher Sutton
2015 Vuelta a Andalucía Vuelta a Andalucía is a traditional early season race. Many riders in the modern peloton, however, choose to start their seasons in the Middle East rather than in Europe (the 2015 Tour of Oman ran at the same time). In 2015, these included Alejandro Valverde (), who had won the Vuelta a Andalucía in 2012, 2013 and 2014, so he was not present to defend his title. The Vuelta a Andalucía is particularly notable for its difficult, mountainous terrain. The 2015 edition, however, also featured an Individual time trial on the first day. The mountains were particularly difficult, with a