In April 2020, the 2020 Tour de France was rescheduled to run between the 29 August and 20 September, having been postponed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2011 Vuelta a España was initially closer than the 2020 edition, but due to a doping incident the margins of victory changed.

[6] The teams participating in the race were: UCI WorldTeams UCI ProTeams Defending champion Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) was considered the pre-race favourite, followed by his teammate and 2017 Giro d'Italia champion Tom Dumoulin.

Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia, was seen as one of their main challengers, alongside Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama–FDJ).

Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) was also seen as a top contender, having unexpectedly abandoned the Giro d'Italia during the second stage.

Riders believed to be the main contenders for victories on the sprint stages were Pascal Ackermann (Bora–Hansgrohe), Sam Bennett (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates).

[5] The Vuelta a España has four individual classifications, for which jerseys were awarded daily to the leading rider, as well as a team competition.

The rider with the lowest cumulative time is the leader of the general classification, and wears the red jersey.

This award is given after each stage (excluding the individual time trial) to the rider "who displayed the most generous effort and best sporting spirit."