This Thursday, the Senate hosted the ‘La Vuelta 90 años’ commemorative celebration – a special event organised in collaboration with the High Council for Sports’ Young Sports Foundation and Unipublic. The event included four roundtables that offered a plural perspective on the legacy and evolution of Spain’s most emblematic cycling race.
Pedro Rollán, the President of the Spanish Senate, inaugurated the event before giving way to Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta, and the first roundtable. Entitled ‘La Vuelta como evento’ (La Vuelta as an event), it reviewed the race’s trajectory since its origins in 1935 up until its consolidation as an international event. Moderated by Ander Gil, former President of the Spanish Senate, it featured the attendance of Ana José Cancio, RTVE journalist; Heri Frade, COPE journalist; and Xisco Lliteras, founder and CEO of the Mallorca 312 cyclotourist race.
The second, ‘Cicloturismo, territorio y más allá de La Vuelta’ (Cyclotourism, the territory of La Vuelta and beyond), explored how La Vuelta has contributed towards placing certain Spanish landscapes and localities on the cycling map, thus boosting tourism and generating an important economic and social impact. Moderated by Patricia López Cuenca, Director of 2Playbook Media, it was made up by Mr Jordi Torres Falcó, Minister for Tourism and Commerce in the Government of Andorra; Lara Martínez, Deputy Minister for Tourism in the Government of the Principality of Asturias; Nidia Arévalo, Spanish Senator and Mayor of Mos; Xavi Paz, Mayor of Molins de Rei; and Belén Calahorro, head of ConBici’s ‘Pedal Spain’ project.
The third, ‘La Vuelta Femenina, ciclismo e igualdad’ (La Vuelta Femenina, cycling and equality), highlighted the rise of women’s cycling and the key role played by La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es, born in 2023 as the successor of the Challenge by La Vuelta, reflecting the sport’s progress and its commitment to gender equality. Participants included Bárbara Butragueño, Deputy General Director of Women and Sports in the High Council for Sports; Dori Ruano, Ambassador of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es; Marta Montaner, Project Leader for the High Council for Sports’ Young Sports Foundation; and Beatriz Faustino, Director of Marketing at Carrefour. It was moderated by Lucía Santiago, the Press Officer for the High Council for Sports.
The day’s events concluded with the roundtable ‘La Vuelta: evolución del ciclismo profesional’ (La Vuelta, the evolution of professional cycling), where participants debated the advances in nutrition, technology and training that have transformed modern cycling, including ex-riders Óscar Pereiro and Luis Ángel Maté, accompanied by José Vicioso, President of the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation; Kiko García, ex-professional rider and Technical Director of La Vuelta, moderated by Félix Jordán de Urríes, General Director of the High Council for Sports’ Young Sports Foundation.
This event served not only to celebrate La Vuelta’s 90-year history, but also to highlight its role in today’s society and its projection into the future as a symbol of hard work, self-improvement and connection between sports and territory. In this context, initiatives such as the La Vuelta es Más programme reflect the desire for the race’s continued growth, not just as a cycling competition, but also as an agent with a social and environmental commitment, based on pillars that reinforce its transformational vocation.
