The opening stage of the Spanish Vuelta 2012 will cover the course of the running of the bulls and into the bull ring

11/01/2012. The coming 18th of August will see the opening of the La Vuelta 2012 in Pamplona where there will be a team time trial which will end with a final stage that covers the distance of the running of the bulls and which will end at the Pamplona Bullring

Racing along the length of the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls, excitement... thrills... and the finishing line in the Pamplona bull ring. Incredible though it seems, we are not talking about the Pamplona bullrunning but rather about a red cycling shirt for the winner as this will be the initial stage of the next La Vuelta cycling race- the opening day of La Vuelta 2012. On the 18th of August in Pamplona there will be some curvy horns on show but in fact they will be the metal handle bars of the bikes of the professional cyclists. There will be racing along Estafeta Street, but it will be done by the different cycling teams from all parts of the world. There will be some "divine" racing, but it will be made by some of the best cyclists in the world because only the best will be taking part in the La Vuelta 2012. There will be lots of colorful tee shirts because these professional teams come heavily sponsored.... There will be a large participation because it is a time trial for the different teams and it is the overall team display that counts...There will not be any bull-minders, but there will be cycling teams working together as a team. There will be no homily sung to San Fermín in Santo Domingo, but the saint will be witness to the uphill run that will probably be decided by differences of mere seconds... Will some of the participants slip up at the corner of Mercaderes and Estafeta? We must wait until next 18th to learn all the answers to this exciting event.

Today all the details were given out at the press conference held in Pamplona about the La Vuelta 2012 as Pamplona will be an important sponsor of the event this year. The opening day will have a time trial for teams and the final part of the race will cover the course of the running of the bulls and the finishing line will be inside the arena of the Pamplona bullring. The sponsors wish to make the most of the positive values which the Sanfermin fiestas and the running of the bulls have gained around the world in sponsoring the opening day of this important cycling event the La Vuelta. Miguel Induráin explained some of the details of this year's cycling event where there will be 6 mountain stages, 40 kilometers of individual time trials and some 37 mountain passes to be crossed. For the organizing entity (Unipublic) it will mean some challenging and exciting weeks of competition in this, the 67th edition of the La Vuelta in Spain.