11 August 2026 · News · mc-velo, campaigns
MC Vuelta: 21 stages, three jerseys, one last grand tour
La Vuelta rolls out of Monaco on 22 August. So do we. From 15 August through the closing kilometres in Madrid, every outdoor ride you record counts toward the MC Vuelta — three jerseys, three free MC Classic Services.
The pros race 21 stages across 23 days at the back end of the European summer. From Saturday 15 August to Sunday 13 September, we're asking you to ride alongside them on your roads and at your pace for the MC Vuelta, our answer to the last grand tour of the season.
There's no daily hour to hit. Every outdoor ride you record on a connected head unit counts, and the leaderboard sorts itself out from there. Three jerseys are up for grabs, and each one comes with a free MC Classic general bike service — one for the all-rounder, one for the climber, one for the rider who just refuses to miss a day.
The jerseys
- 🔴 GC — the all-rounder's prize. Best combined rank of total distance and total climbing across the comp window. Volume matters, but so does what you point the bike at.
- 🔵 KOM — the climber's prize. Most vertical metres, plain and simple. If your idea of a good ride starts with a hairpin, this one's yours to lose.
- 🟢 Points — the consistency prize. Most days with at least one qualifying ride. This isn't about crushing hours; it's about turning up.
How to get in
Open the MC Velo app and head to Profile → Connections. Link your Wahoo, Hammerhead or intervals.icu (necessary for Garmin users) account and you're auto-entered — no separate signup, no start line to line up at.
What counts as a qualifying ride
Outdoor cycling only, recorded on the head unit, auto-synced through your connection. No trainer sessions, no Zwift, no manual entries, no "I definitely did this ride but forgot to hit start" edits. This is a get-outside comp — same as the peloton, we're out in the weather. Any time zone works — if you're travelling through Europe chasing the actual race, your rides count the same as the ones out of CP on a Tuesday morning.
A note on the Vuelta's rest days
The pros get two rest days built into the 23-day calendar. Those days are off the board for everyone — rides you record on the Vuelta's rest days don't add to your distance or climbing totals. GC and KOM are settled on the 21 racing days only, so nobody buys their way up the standings by punching out a big ride while the peloton is putting its feet up.
But — and this matters — the two-consecutive-days rule still applies to rest days. If you take a rest day off and the day either side, that's still two days in a row without a qualifying ride, and you're out.
Two days off, back-to-back, and you're out
Miss two or more consecutive days during the comp and you're out of the running for all three jerseys, not just the green one. Rest day, race day, it's all the same for this rule — two blanks in a row and it's over. You'll still be ranked on the board so your effort shows; the free service is what's off the table. Same principle as the pros: miss two days back-to-back and you've climbed off the bike.
Why we're doing it
We love the Vuelta at MC. It's the tour where the racing gets a little bit weirder, the finales get a little bit later, and the whole peloton looks like it's been through a full season — because it has.
There's a sweetness to the timing on our side of the world. Mid-August in Sydney is the tail of winter with cold hands at Waterfall, dark starts at Centennial Park, headwinds you weren't asking for. By the time the peloton rolls into Madrid on 13 September, we're at the front edge of Spring with mornings getting light again and jackets coming off before the coffee stop. Twenty-three days is exactly long enough to shake off winter and turn up to summer already fit. That's the whole idea.
Get involved
Open the MC Velo app at app.mcvelo.cc and connect your head unit before Stage 1 rolls out of Monaco on Saturday 22 August. Set your alarms for the mountain stages, keep an eye on the leaderboard from the MC Vuelta tab, and we'll see you on the road.
Not on the app yet? Same link — open app.mcvelo.cc on your phone, add it to your home screen, sign in, and you're set.
Winners announced in the app's Rides feed on Monday 14 September. Prizes redeemable at MC on or before 30 September through the usual HubTiger booking flow.
Full rules live inside the app on the MC Vuelta tab.
21 stages. Three jerseys. One last grand tour. See you at the start line.
