The Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, a 2.1 race in Spain, will be held in May 16-18, instead of April or late March as usual. Being a 5-day race for most of its previous editions, the race now will remain a 3-day race for the third consecutive year. The race was won by Ruben Plaza(Movistar) in 2013.

Once an important preparation race, the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon was at one time a favorite race for Alberto Contador, who won the race 3 times. The race attracted other elite riders as well, both spanish and foreign, including the likes of Igor Anton and Vinokourov.

However, as the result of the decline of spanish cycling, and spanish economy as a whole, races like Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and Vuelta Asturias was cut short, and several other races vanished. The racing competition is down as well, as the last two years Vuelta a Castilla y Leon was contended only by riders who are normally domestiques.

Now the spanish racing calendar contains only 65 race days. While the figure is not too bad, there's a simple comparison: China, a country that has only 3 world tour riders as of now, has 68 race days in 2013.