- Feb 20, 2010
- 33,064
- 15,272
- 28,180
Stage 16: Lugo - Albergue de Montaña "Club Ancáres", 146km
GPM:
Alto del Hospital (cat.1) 11,3km @ 7,1%
Alto de Louxas (cat.2) 9,6km @ 5,4%
Alto de la Sierra Morela (cat.1) 10,2km @ 6,3%
Cruz de Cespedosa (cat.ESP) 9,5km @ 9,6%
Albergue de Montaña "Club Ancáres" (cat.2) 7,0km @ 5,7%
Firstly, the eagle-eyed viewer and more dedicated traceur will note that for the second time in this thread (after the Granada - Motril stage in my 2nd Vuelta), I have what's almost an exact clone of a PRC stage (can't see who to credit, but it's more often than not visko) that was posted all the way back in November 2010; if I had seen it I had forgotten about it when I put this route together (some of these stages were designed about six months ago, then tweaked since), but as many traceurs share opinions on what makes a great route it's perhaps not surprising that once in a while a cloned stage will happen, especially when particular climbs chain quite nicely together, much as Mortirolo and Aprica, Fedaia and Pordoi, Pradiccio and Abetone, Rombo and Rettenbachferner and so on. Ancáres is one that simply can't not be chained to Sierra Morela if climbing from this side, but nevertheless the rest of the stage, which runs for a period parallel to the west of where stage 15 ran after crossing from Asturias into Galicia.
The riders have enjoyed a quiet, relaxing refill day in the historic and scenic city of Lugo, with its scenic cathedral and encased by its UNESCO-inscribed Roman city walls, a remnant of antiquity that gives the city a dramatic backdrop. There is so much goodness to offer in Galicia that it is a real shame that the pro-level Volta a Galiza that we had in the 80s and 90s died off; as mentioned in the previous stage, it serves as an extension of the geographical style of Portugal for cycling, or as a combination of the other Spanish nationalities; there are long and grinding climbs in the south of the region (La Manzaneda, for example) and both near the coast and near Asturias there are short-to-mid-length and very steep ascents like you might find in País Vasco (such as those brutes in yesterday's stage, or the Mirador de Ézaro). The central area of the region (around Lugo itself) offers better scope for a flat stage than Euskal Herria, and there is also the benefits of the wind coming in on the Atlantic coast. Maybe that's why it was a popular race for a period, attracting a strong field with very impressive lists of winners including Andy Hampsten, Miguel Indurain, Marino Lejarreta, Abraham Olano, Federico Echave, Frank Vandenbroucke, Álvaro Mejía and Lale Cubino. Taking place in August, it was significantly hurt by the move of the Vuelta to September as it was rather too close to the Vuelta to offer a difficult enough parcours, and in recent years it has been an amateur event (most recently won by Aitor González, but not that Aitor González - this one is 24yo and rides for the Ampo amateur team - ahead of ex-pros Jorge Martín Montenegro and Pedro Merino).
With the end of the Karpin/Xacobeo team, however, Galicia has been rather in fashion for the Vuelta, however, as the region still clearly loves and cares for the sport. 2011 saw three stages including an MTF at La Manzaneda and the main TT, plus a stage leaving the region via Ancáres; 2012 saw no fewer than five stages, again including the main TT and an MTF (this time at Ancáres), a year later the race began from Galicia with four stages and then a fifth leaving to Zamora, while another five stages in 2014 saw the race end in the region. The 2015 route bypassed the region for the first time in a while, but clearly the intent is there to keep the sport returning, so I've had the rest day in Lugo and then another big mountain stage in the east of the region today.
This is the shortest road stage of the Vuelta, but into the sub-150km have been crammed five categorized climbs including the last actual MTF of the Vuelta (another cat.2!!!) and the third - and last - ESP categorized climb of the race. The first part of the stage is just rolling before we descend down into the same valley that, further up, serves as the base for the Alto de Ouviaña climb that started the important parts of the pre-rest day beast. Here, however, we leave the road earlier and turn southwards for a nasty cat.1 climb, the Alto del Hospital. Opening up with a couple of repechos before giving way to 5km at nearly 10%, this one will be an early leg-burner with some sweeping curves and dramatic vistas.
This takes us quite close to A Fonsagrada, which hosted an intermediate sprint on the previous stage, as Hospital is on the same ridge, however we descend straight back down into Lamas for arguably the easiest climb of the day, the second category Alto de Louxas. Those 2km at 8,5% at the start are the main challenge, but the gradients aren't sustained so it won't be likely to cause too much trouble given what's to come. Because we're shooting for the moon here. While I pointed at Galicia having climbs that are similar to Catalunya, and climbs that are similar to Euskadi, neither of those have a climb like this.
The double climb, of course is the main way to climb the monster that is Ancáres. Sierra Morela is, in and of itself, a perfectly serious climb - over 10km at 6% - but given its location and that it pretty much has to lead into Ancáres, its only function in the Vuelta is in that role. It is hardly unique in that role; Cordal is pretty much only ever used by the Vuelta as the warm-up before Angliru (at least until Unipublic discover Cuchu Puercu) while Passo del Tonale often fulfils this function before Gavia, though unlike Sierra Morela (or in Unipublic parlance, the Alto de Folgueiras de Aigas) Tonale is similarly valuable from either side and has the scope to be a mountaintop finish; Sierra Morela from the east is only a short rise after the shorter, eastern face of Ancáres.
After this, of course, the descent takes us to the base of the all-important climb of the day, however we're not climbing all the way to the Puerto de Ancáres, only to the Cruz de Cespedosa, a couple of kilometres down the climb. The main reasoning behind this is simply that while the Vuelta may have been all about the MTF here in 2012 and 2014, this Vuelta design is intended to make people race from afar, hence the lack of serious mountaintop finishes and the tendency towards brutal chains of shorter steep climbs - you can make some monstrous medium mountain stages in Spain, that's for sure... however, the key moves on this stage will have to be on Cruz de Cespedosa, and given we're going via the astronomically brutal Pan do Zarco side, this means a slightly abridged version of one of the toughest climbs on the Iberian peninsula. The climb is brutal enough via Baloutas, but via Pan do Zarco it's a monster. This narrower, steeper version ramps up immediately with gradients of MURDERKILLDEATH.
The great thing about this side of the climb is that the respite only comes late; the first eight kilometres are all nasty, all have super steep ramps, and with a max of 20%, it gets really harsh. With the shortest road stage of the race and coming after a rest day, with an easier final climb and a less difficult day to follow tomorrow there is really no excuse not to properly go for it from Cespedosa. It crests with 26km remaining, so it's not like it's a monster solo to do - I can't imagine a post-rest day Contador not being interested in making this one work...
After Cespedosa, a tricky descent through the woods follows as we head southward via Suarból and Piornedo (intermediate sprint in the latter to try to offer a further incentive to the early attack as well) with many technical corners, and rhythm-ruining slight uphill digs that will just have to hurt after the suffering of the previous climb. And then we move into the final climb, the cat.2 ascent to the mountain refuge "Club Ancáres". This is a pretty small finish, admittedly, but there is more room here than there is at either Cruz de Cespedosa or the Puerto de Ancáres, while PRC has shown that there's more space to use here than there is at Abantos, and that's a historic Vuelta staple.
The profile of the final climb is that it is 7km @ 5,7% though as you will see from that profile it is not at all consistent; you could also if you wanted include the previous false flat ramps around Puente de Ortigal; the idea of PRC in introducing the idea of this ascent was to produce something in Spain akin to the Mortirolo-Aprica double; I think it work to a degree on that. The actual categorizable climb consists of a first kilometre of serious climbing, then four kilometres of false flat before a steep and punchy final two kilometres. This should at least ensure some gaps if the riders are cowards, as with the climbing they already have in their legs today, 1,5km @ 11,6% is enough to create some time. However, my only concern is that 11,6% is steep enough to put some fear into some riders, but you can't realistically expect riders to soft pedal 9km @ 10% in fear of 1500m that are slightly steeper... surely?
GPM:
Alto del Hospital (cat.1) 11,3km @ 7,1%
Alto de Louxas (cat.2) 9,6km @ 5,4%
Alto de la Sierra Morela (cat.1) 10,2km @ 6,3%
Cruz de Cespedosa (cat.ESP) 9,5km @ 9,6%
Albergue de Montaña "Club Ancáres" (cat.2) 7,0km @ 5,7%
Firstly, the eagle-eyed viewer and more dedicated traceur will note that for the second time in this thread (after the Granada - Motril stage in my 2nd Vuelta), I have what's almost an exact clone of a PRC stage (can't see who to credit, but it's more often than not visko) that was posted all the way back in November 2010; if I had seen it I had forgotten about it when I put this route together (some of these stages were designed about six months ago, then tweaked since), but as many traceurs share opinions on what makes a great route it's perhaps not surprising that once in a while a cloned stage will happen, especially when particular climbs chain quite nicely together, much as Mortirolo and Aprica, Fedaia and Pordoi, Pradiccio and Abetone, Rombo and Rettenbachferner and so on. Ancáres is one that simply can't not be chained to Sierra Morela if climbing from this side, but nevertheless the rest of the stage, which runs for a period parallel to the west of where stage 15 ran after crossing from Asturias into Galicia.
The riders have enjoyed a quiet, relaxing refill day in the historic and scenic city of Lugo, with its scenic cathedral and encased by its UNESCO-inscribed Roman city walls, a remnant of antiquity that gives the city a dramatic backdrop. There is so much goodness to offer in Galicia that it is a real shame that the pro-level Volta a Galiza that we had in the 80s and 90s died off; as mentioned in the previous stage, it serves as an extension of the geographical style of Portugal for cycling, or as a combination of the other Spanish nationalities; there are long and grinding climbs in the south of the region (La Manzaneda, for example) and both near the coast and near Asturias there are short-to-mid-length and very steep ascents like you might find in País Vasco (such as those brutes in yesterday's stage, or the Mirador de Ézaro). The central area of the region (around Lugo itself) offers better scope for a flat stage than Euskal Herria, and there is also the benefits of the wind coming in on the Atlantic coast. Maybe that's why it was a popular race for a period, attracting a strong field with very impressive lists of winners including Andy Hampsten, Miguel Indurain, Marino Lejarreta, Abraham Olano, Federico Echave, Frank Vandenbroucke, Álvaro Mejía and Lale Cubino. Taking place in August, it was significantly hurt by the move of the Vuelta to September as it was rather too close to the Vuelta to offer a difficult enough parcours, and in recent years it has been an amateur event (most recently won by Aitor González, but not that Aitor González - this one is 24yo and rides for the Ampo amateur team - ahead of ex-pros Jorge Martín Montenegro and Pedro Merino).
With the end of the Karpin/Xacobeo team, however, Galicia has been rather in fashion for the Vuelta, however, as the region still clearly loves and cares for the sport. 2011 saw three stages including an MTF at La Manzaneda and the main TT, plus a stage leaving the region via Ancáres; 2012 saw no fewer than five stages, again including the main TT and an MTF (this time at Ancáres), a year later the race began from Galicia with four stages and then a fifth leaving to Zamora, while another five stages in 2014 saw the race end in the region. The 2015 route bypassed the region for the first time in a while, but clearly the intent is there to keep the sport returning, so I've had the rest day in Lugo and then another big mountain stage in the east of the region today.
This is the shortest road stage of the Vuelta, but into the sub-150km have been crammed five categorized climbs including the last actual MTF of the Vuelta (another cat.2!!!) and the third - and last - ESP categorized climb of the race. The first part of the stage is just rolling before we descend down into the same valley that, further up, serves as the base for the Alto de Ouviaña climb that started the important parts of the pre-rest day beast. Here, however, we leave the road earlier and turn southwards for a nasty cat.1 climb, the Alto del Hospital. Opening up with a couple of repechos before giving way to 5km at nearly 10%, this one will be an early leg-burner with some sweeping curves and dramatic vistas.
This takes us quite close to A Fonsagrada, which hosted an intermediate sprint on the previous stage, as Hospital is on the same ridge, however we descend straight back down into Lamas for arguably the easiest climb of the day, the second category Alto de Louxas. Those 2km at 8,5% at the start are the main challenge, but the gradients aren't sustained so it won't be likely to cause too much trouble given what's to come. Because we're shooting for the moon here. While I pointed at Galicia having climbs that are similar to Catalunya, and climbs that are similar to Euskadi, neither of those have a climb like this.
The double climb, of course is the main way to climb the monster that is Ancáres. Sierra Morela is, in and of itself, a perfectly serious climb - over 10km at 6% - but given its location and that it pretty much has to lead into Ancáres, its only function in the Vuelta is in that role. It is hardly unique in that role; Cordal is pretty much only ever used by the Vuelta as the warm-up before Angliru (at least until Unipublic discover Cuchu Puercu) while Passo del Tonale often fulfils this function before Gavia, though unlike Sierra Morela (or in Unipublic parlance, the Alto de Folgueiras de Aigas) Tonale is similarly valuable from either side and has the scope to be a mountaintop finish; Sierra Morela from the east is only a short rise after the shorter, eastern face of Ancáres.
After this, of course, the descent takes us to the base of the all-important climb of the day, however we're not climbing all the way to the Puerto de Ancáres, only to the Cruz de Cespedosa, a couple of kilometres down the climb. The main reasoning behind this is simply that while the Vuelta may have been all about the MTF here in 2012 and 2014, this Vuelta design is intended to make people race from afar, hence the lack of serious mountaintop finishes and the tendency towards brutal chains of shorter steep climbs - you can make some monstrous medium mountain stages in Spain, that's for sure... however, the key moves on this stage will have to be on Cruz de Cespedosa, and given we're going via the astronomically brutal Pan do Zarco side, this means a slightly abridged version of one of the toughest climbs on the Iberian peninsula. The climb is brutal enough via Baloutas, but via Pan do Zarco it's a monster. This narrower, steeper version ramps up immediately with gradients of MURDERKILLDEATH.
The great thing about this side of the climb is that the respite only comes late; the first eight kilometres are all nasty, all have super steep ramps, and with a max of 20%, it gets really harsh. With the shortest road stage of the race and coming after a rest day, with an easier final climb and a less difficult day to follow tomorrow there is really no excuse not to properly go for it from Cespedosa. It crests with 26km remaining, so it's not like it's a monster solo to do - I can't imagine a post-rest day Contador not being interested in making this one work...
After Cespedosa, a tricky descent through the woods follows as we head southward via Suarból and Piornedo (intermediate sprint in the latter to try to offer a further incentive to the early attack as well) with many technical corners, and rhythm-ruining slight uphill digs that will just have to hurt after the suffering of the previous climb. And then we move into the final climb, the cat.2 ascent to the mountain refuge "Club Ancáres". This is a pretty small finish, admittedly, but there is more room here than there is at either Cruz de Cespedosa or the Puerto de Ancáres, while PRC has shown that there's more space to use here than there is at Abantos, and that's a historic Vuelta staple.
The profile of the final climb is that it is 7km @ 5,7% though as you will see from that profile it is not at all consistent; you could also if you wanted include the previous false flat ramps around Puente de Ortigal; the idea of PRC in introducing the idea of this ascent was to produce something in Spain akin to the Mortirolo-Aprica double; I think it work to a degree on that. The actual categorizable climb consists of a first kilometre of serious climbing, then four kilometres of false flat before a steep and punchy final two kilometres. This should at least ensure some gaps if the riders are cowards, as with the climbing they already have in their legs today, 1,5km @ 11,6% is enough to create some time. However, my only concern is that 11,6% is steep enough to put some fear into some riders, but you can't realistically expect riders to soft pedal 9km @ 10% in fear of 1500m that are slightly steeper... surely?
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