Featured image courtesy of Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
It’s the final grand tour of the year, a 76th edition of the Vuelta in Europe’s most mountainous country. Week one is done, so what does week two have in store? From Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, the entire route is 3,417 km in total and already after nine stages, the Vuelta now has 2,020.1 km remaining. With the entire route bookended by two time trials, the Stage 1 TT in Burgos set the standard, but in week two it will be imperative to put time into your rivals before the final time trial on Stage 21. It’s worth a reminder that for the first time since 2014, this year’s race does not finish with the traditional sprint in Madrid.
Entirely within Spain due to COVID-19, here is a reminder of the overall route map.
Tuesday 24th August: Stage 10 Roquetas de Mar – Rincón de Victoria (Hills)
At 189 km, the Vuelta resumes with a stage almost entirely along the Mediterranean coastline of southern Spain, but the route turns inland with 35 km remaining to enter a 5 km climb at 8% before a flying descent leads into Rincón de la Victoria.
Roquetas de Mar hosted a stage finish at La Vuelta three years ago, a stage that was won by Simon Clarke in the breakaway. The coastal town acts as the starting point of Stage 10, where the roads are virtually flat until the route leaves the coast to turn inland near Vélez-Málaga.
Shortly after moving through the most important city in the Axarquía region the route climbs false flat onto 1 km at 10%. The route then continues at shallow gradients before the last 5 km climb at 8%. The Puerto de Almáchar totals 10.9 km and averages 4.9%. The Almáchar climb peaks out with 15.1 km remaining. The finale is a flying descent back to the coast.
Rincón de Victoria has never before hosted a stage finish at La Vuelta. The finale is too hard for sprinters and GC riders are likely to take this stage easy with many difficulties to come. A breakaway should be successful, so a huge battle to be in the mix is expected on the flat roads of the Costa de Almería in the first phase of the race.
Thymen Arensman, David de la Cruz, Gianluca Brambilla and Omar Fraile are four riders you’d expect to be in contention.
Wednesday 25th August: Stage 11 Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jáen (Hills)
Stage 11 is a relatively short test at 133.6 km. A lumpy day in prospect but the riders won’t be fooled, as a brutal finale.
The race opens on the flat roads north of Antequera, only to enter more rugged terrain after 20 km. The route goes either up or down for the rest of the day. The first ramp appears when the riders leave the valley of the Genil river to climb to Benamejí, a steep but non-classified test. The first climb that does receive a classification is the Puerto de Lagunillas, 57 km into the day.
Right into the heart of Andalucia, the heat is going to play a factor and, with around 16 km to go, the finale begins with the Puerto de Locubín, which is a steady climb of 8.8 km at 4.5%. The riders reach the summit with 8 km to go before a fast descent on a straight road takes them down into Valdepeñas de Jáen.
The last stretch in the village is nothing short of monstrous for the riders, with ramps reaching 30%. La Vuelta included the finish climb three times before and Igor Antón (2010), Joaquim Rodríguez (2011) and Daniel Moreno (below in 2013) turned out on top.
Given the terrain it will not be easy to control the breakaway, so attackers could have it their way. Yet, GC riders fighting for the stage win is a scenario that cannot be ruled out. If Primož Roglič is still in red come this stage then he might want to cement his GC lead further. INEOS pair Egan Bernal and Adam Yates have got to be considered, especially Yates as he’s been quite active in week one. Astana have also been present at the front multiple times so Aleksandr Vlasov should be up there too.
Thursday 26th August: Stage 12 Jáen – Córdoba (Hills)
Running from Jaén to Córdoba this stage is going to be fast and furious with 175 km in total. Córdoba last featured in 2014 when Peter Sagan was the fastest in a bunch sprint. In 2011, John Degenkolb got the better of his sprinting rivals.
For 2021, the first 10 km of the race are hilly before a long and gradual descent leads onto an more undulating phase of Stage 12. The riders continue on the flat to Córdoba and after the first passage in the city there are still 69 km remaining. Two laps around Córdoba – both featuring one climb – round out the route. The first climb begins in Medina Azahara, a fortified palace-city that was built in the 10th century and lies 8 km west of Córdoba. The riders climb roughly 400 vertical metres to continue on rolling roads to the actual summit, the Alto de San Jerónimo. It’s a 13.3 km test at 3.3%
The route descends back into Cordóba before the last climb of the day. The Alto del 14% (yes that is the name of the climb!) peaks out at 14%, while the average gradient of the 7.2 km ascent sits at 5.6%. The hardest kilometre appears almost 3 km before the summit and goes up at 11%. A flat section with 1.5 km left to climb leads onto a false flat run-in to the summit.
It’s a 10 km descent from the Alto del 14% to the last 7 km on the flat.
As the route ascends north of Córdoba it’s not too hard for the riders. The red jersey contenders should find this stage another test before the defining summits will appear. A breakaway will be successful in all likelihood on Stage 12, so an exciting first phase of the race is on the cards. In terms of the stage victory the Alto del 14% will play a pivotal role, either in the ascent or in the descent.
A sprint of a select group is another likely scenario. Alex Aranburu, who almost took red on the opening Burgos time trial, might fancy his chances on the flat after climbing.
Friday 27th August: Stage 13 Belmez – Villanueva de la Serena (Flat)
The sprinters have been having a ball at this Vuelta. Stage 13 from Belmez to Villanueva might be one of the longest at 203.7 km long, but this will be the fifth opportunity for the fast men.
There are no climbs on this stage, located in the region of Extremadura. The biggest obstacle will undoubtedly be the heat with the summers in both Andalucía and Extremadura are notoriously hot and dry. It’s also a Vuelta first for Belmez and Villanueva de la Serena, where neither location has hosted the race.
A bunch sprint is a 99% certainty, the final 1% chance might go to an attacker or an unfortunate crash may spoil the day.
After week one, both Jasper Philipsen and Fabio Jakobsen have two sprint win apiece. For the all the firepower the Groupama-FDJ sprint train has, Arnaud Démare has yet to record a victory and Australian Michael Matthews has been in and around the mix.
Saturday 28th August: Stage 14 Don Benito – Pico Villeurcas (Summit Finish)
After a sprint comes a summit finish! 165.7 km overall, Stage 14 will be an uneventful and probably hot first half of the race before the riders enter a demanding, and probably still hot, second half.
The riders reach the base of the first climb in Cañamero, after 79 km of racing. The Puerto Berzocana is a steady climb of 7.7 km at 5.2% and it is shortly followed – and with no descent in between – by the Alto Collado de Ballesteros. Which is a short and sharp ascent on a narrow concrete track. The 2.8 km climb serves an average percentage of 14%. The 13 km descent is simultaneously a reckoning of the finish climb. When they are almost down the pilots move through Guadalupe to enter a lumpy local circuit of 40 km.
Once back in Guadalupe the route returns to the Collado de Ballesteros. But instead of flying down the hill the riders climb up the slopes. When they reach the summit a lefthander takes them even higher up the mountain and they continue to the Pico Villuercas. The finish climb is 14.5 km long and the average gradient sits at 6.2%. The second half is hardest and features 1 km at 10%. On the narrow road leading to the abandoned military installations at the top the gradient kicks up to 15% just before the line.
At an elevation of 1,580 metres, Pico Villuerca is the highest peak of the Sierra de Guadalupe and also the highest point of the greater Montes de Toledo system. If the attackers are given a long enough leash, and if there are good climbers on board, it could be that the stage winner is part of the breakaway. But since the finish climb is so long and the route so hard, a more likely scenario is that the strongest GC riders go head to head on the Pico Villuercas.
How the race unfolds depends on the GC but expect Roglič, Bernal, Vlasov, Enric Mas and Mikel Landa to be the protagonists.
Sunday 29th August: Stage 15 Navalmoral de la Mata – El Barraco (Mountains)
The final act of week two sees four climbs spice up the last 100 km before the finale is a 5.4 kilometres descent into the valley of the Alberche river. 197.5 km in total, the stage follows a predominantly flat route but begins to climb at shallow gradients after 46 km ridden. The riders descent into Arenas de San Pedro before entering the Alto de la Centenera. The climb totals 15.1 km and averages 5.5%. The last 4 km are harder – 8% on average and peaking out at 11%.
The riders descend into Mombeltran, only to start climbing again on the first slopes of the Puerto de Pedro Bernardo. It’s a 9 km climb with an average gradient of 4.2%. The penultimate climb appears after almost 140 kilometres. The Puerto Mijares adds up to 20.4 kilometres, while the average slope sits at 5.4%.
A downhill of 25 km takes the riders to the foot of the last climb. The Puerto San Juan de Nava is 8.6 km long and averages 3.8%. The ensuing descent into El Barraco is 5.4 km long.
Given the not very demanding finale, it’s obvious that GC riders will take it easy. After all, it will be hard to open up time gaps. This paves they way for the breakaway to fight for the stage honours.
In his final race before retiring, every cycling fan would rejoice is Team Qhubeka’s Italian climber Fabio Aru took the win here. Aru is a grand tour winner at this very race back in 2015. It would be a sweet ending to his cycling career.
