News already came out months ago, but work has officially begun as of today. Burgos is the city of choice to host the official start of La Vuelta 21. This morning, in the Sala Capitular of the Ayuntamiento de Irun (Main Hall of Irun’s City Hall), the General Director of La Vuelta, Javier Guillén, met with the Mayor of Burgos, Daniel de la Rosa Villahoz, and the Mayor of Irun, José Antonio Santano, before the President of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD; the Sports Higher Council of the Government of Spain), Irene Lozano, for the symbolic ‘passing of the torch’ between the official start of La Vuelta 20 and its successor for 2021.
“As the Mayor of Burgos, I want to highlight how honoured we are to be appointed with this task,” explained Daniel de la Rosa Villahoz. Besides, he underlined how the city of Burgos will celebrate two important events next year, as coincidentally “the Cathedral is commemorating its VIIIth Centenary.” The Mayor of Burgos had some words for “the difficult situation we are going through right now” and emphasized the great expense it means “to limit the celebration of sporting events,” even though it is essential “to keep moving forward.”
On his speech, the Mayor of Irun stressed how much La Vuelta 20 has meant for his city. “It’s been a thrill and a responsibility to host the official start of the 75th edition of La Vuelta. We will never forget this edition of the race, on which we wanted to combine a sense of responsibility to the current situation with the joy of having a top-notch international sports event at home.”
As for what La Vuelta can expect from its official start from Burgos, the Archbishop of Burgos and President of the Fundación VIII Centenario. Catedral de Burgos 2021 (Foundation for the 8th Centenary of the Cathedral of Burgos), Fidel Herráez, underlined that “the Cathedral of Burgos, a universal wonder, will be a great portico for one of the world’s most important sporting events.”
The passing on the torch had some exceptional attendants, who over the next year will act as hosts for the official start of La Vuelta 21. Amongst them we find the Senior Advisor to the President of the Junta de Castilla y León (Castilla y León Regional Council), Ángel Ibáñez Hernando; the President of the Diputación de Burgos (Burgos Provincial Council), César Rico; and the Vice-President for the Fundación VIII Centenario. Catedral de Burgos 2021, Antonio Miguel Méndez Pozo.
