Organisers have teamed up with Spanish company Aquaservice to become the race’s official water supplier.

It will provide reusable bottles and dispensers to enable between 2,500 and 3,000 cyclists and other participants including organisers, security services, the media and the public to stay hydrated each day.

Dispensers will be positioned at the start and finish of each stage, and Aquaservice will also be present at the Parque Vuelta’s fan zone, which is returning after its absence last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deal is in place for the following three editions of La Vuelta.

Organisers say this will see more than 90,000 litres of water distributed during the three-week tour and eliminate more than 180,000 single-use plastic bottles that would otherwise have been used.

This is with the intention of reducing plastic waste and making La Vuelta 2021 "the most sustainable and circular edition in its history."

Javier Guillén, the general manager of La Vuelta, said: "When it comes to making La Vuelta more sustainable, there can be no half measures.

"This agreement has an incalculable value in terms of the work that goes into reducing the race’s environmental impact.

"Aquaservice shares La Vuelta’s principles and objectives in continuing to evolve as a responsible and committed event.

"We are thrilled and excited to work together towards this common goal."

Aquaservice’s director of marketing, commerce and logistics Fernando García-Guzmán Blanco added: "Aquaservice is a zero environmental impact company, so our collaboration with La Vuelta is a natural alliance.

"This agreement will allow us to drastically reduce the use of plastic that is normally generated by a massive sporting event such as La Vuelta, and to contribute towards making it the world’s most sustainable professional cycling competition."

La Vuelta received the Basque Government’s Erronka Garbia certification in 2020 for its environmental measures, while Aquaservice says it is the first fully carbon neutral bottled water company.

The race is the third grand tour of the year, after the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

It was first organised in 1935 and has ran annually since 1955.

This year’s 21-stage tour begins at Burgos Cathedral on August 14 and will be held entirely in Spain.

The Galician province of A Coruña will host the final stage on September 5 in a shift from the recent tradition of it being held in the Spanish capital Madrid.

The last two editions of La Vuelta were won by Slovenian Primož Roglič of Team Jumbo-Visma, with last year’s race shortened to 18 stages and delayed to October and November because of the COVID-19 pandemic.