The third and final Grand Tour of the men’s cycling season, La Vuelta a España, rolls out of Barcelona on Saturday August 26, and in this XL race preview we look ahead to what we are already calling “El Clásico”.  After the usual weekly news round-up, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie first examine the route, then the riders and particularly the favourites for overall glory in Madrid. To help them, they enlist one of the voices of Belgian cycling, commentator Renaat Schotte, our resident great Dane, Brian Nygaard, and Eurosport’s eyes on the ground in Spain, Laura Meseguer.  We also hear from the Motown Maestro, Larry Warbasse, who’ll be lining up in Barcelona for his AG2r-Citroën team, plus there’s a trip down TCP memory lane, through our own daily coverage of the Vuelta since 2016.  The Cycling Podcast is supported by Science in Sport. Follow us on social media: Twitter @cycling_podcast Instagram @thecyclingpodcast The 11.01 Cappuccino Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am). Science in Sport The Cycling Podcast has been supported since 2016 by Science In Sport. World leading experts in endurance nutrition. Go to scienceinsport.com to see the whole range. MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine Cellars The 2023 Vuelta a España wine selection is available at dvinecellars.com/collections/the-cycling-podcast-cases Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes. The Cycling Podcast is on Strava The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.