The format of the Tour de France's 2020 edition is no thanks to the Vuelta a España's preference for similar routes, says Vuelta boss Javier Guigen.

When the 2020 Tour route was announced in Paris on Tuesday, the unprecedentedly tough first week, with mountains appearing as early as stages 2 and 4, was strongly reminiscent of recent Vuelta years. This year's race, for example, had four summit finishes in the first nine days, beginning with stage 5, Jabalambre.

The 2020 Tour de France will also add more of the Vuelta's trademark ultra-steep climbs, including the Col de la Rose on stage 17, the Plateau des Glières on stage 18, and La Planche des Belles Fils on stage 20.

Like the Vuelta in recent years, the 2020 Tour will also feature more punchy hilly stages, but fewer set-piece mountain treks. Primoz Roglic's hold on the overall lead was nearly broken on the 219-km section from Aranda de Duero to Guadalajara. [However, Javier Guillén, director of the Vuelta a España, does not consider the Tour inspired.

"The Tour has its own personality and is the most important event in the sport. The Tour has its own personality and is the most important event in the sport, so it is also a reference point for the Vuelta.

"Just because there are or are not similarities between these two, or any other race, does not mean that one is based on the idea of the other."

"It is true that the Vuelta has its own identity, even if many races prefer shorter stages to longer ones or enhance mountain stages.

"It's nice to compare the Grand Tours, and every organizer will look at other races and see which formats are working and which are not. We are all professionals. But to say from there that the Tour is referring to the Vuelta is going too far, and it certainly is not."

Rather than the Vuelta, Guillén sees this year's Tour de France route as owing more to the innovative tastes of Christian Prudhomme of France.

"It's one of his trademarks, he likes to do different things in different editions and discover different climbs. Next year's Tour will be different from this one," Guillen said.

"The Giro is the most traditional of the Grand Tours, with long stages and big mountain stages with a lot of elevation gain. The Vuelta and the Tour look at new approaches to the Grand Tour route. The Vuelta and Tour could be paying more attention to new approaches to the Grand Tour route. But there is no dogmatism in this business, and what is really important when analyzing the three competitions is that they are very different and have their own unique personalities.

The 2020 Giro d'Italia route will be announced on October 24, and the Vuelta presentation will take place in Madrid in December, once final confirmation is received.

So far, all that has been confirmed is that the Vuelta will start in Utrecht, Netherlands, on August 14, the fourth time in Grand Tour history that the race will start outside Spain, and will finish in Madrid on September 6.

"It was designed to commemorate the fact that 2020 is the 75th edition of the Vuelta," Guillén said of the 2020 route. . and Guillén said of the 2020 route, "It's a great way to celebrate the 75th edition of the Vuelta.