The 2016 Vuelta a Espana will again visit the mountainous regions of Asturias where it will offer summit finishes on the Alto de Naranco and the Lagos de Covadonga and a start from Lugones after 32 years.

Asturias will host the finish of the first week of the 2016 Vuelta and open the second. The ninth stage will take place on a Sundat and will link the town of Leon Cirtierna with the Alto de Naranco. The last time the Spanish race visited the Asturian peak was in 2013 when Joaquim Rodriguez won ahead of Diego Ulissi, Dani Moeno, Samuel Sanchez, Chris Horner and Alejandro Valverde.

The town of Lugones will return to the Vuelta for the first time since 1984 and for the second time in its history, as confirmed by La Nueva a Espana. It will be the start of the 10th stage one day later, with the stage finishing at Lagos de Covadonga. Then it will be the first rest day. The Lagos de Covadonga climb is a classic that was last used in 2014 when Przemyslaw Niemiec took the win. Since 1983, it has been climbed 19 times in the Vuelta with victories for riders like Marino Lejarreta, Pedro Delgado, Luis Herrera and Laurent Jalabert.

Lugones hosted the start of a 12-kilometer individual time trial in the 1984 edition. The 14th stage ended at the top of Alto de Naranco and was won by Julian Gorospe ahead of Alberto Fernandez and Eric Caritoux. The latter went on to win the Vuelta by only six seconds, ahead the unfortunate Spanish rider, with Raimund Dietzen in third and Pedro Delgado in fourth.

The Mirador de Ézaro and Camperona are the other confirmed summit finishes in the first week of the 2016 Vuelta that will start in Galicia with five stages and will include a time trial in Calpe on stage 18.