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Vuelta 2018 Stage 12:Mondoñedo - Faro de Estaca de Bares

Thursday's stage

Vuelta 2018 Stage 12:Mondoñedo - Faro de Estaca de Bares 181.1 km (edit - start time 12.17 CET)

At 181.1 kilometres, stage 12 in the Vuelta runs from Mondoñedo to Faro de Estaca de Bares, a lighthouse on the north edge of Spain, overlooking the Atlantic. The finale is pepped up by a string of short climbs and narrow roads.

Departure place Mondoñedo is situated in the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. In a valley to be precise, and shortly after the start the riders tackle the 3rd category ascent of the Alto de Cadeira – 5.8 kilometres at 6.5%. It’s a good spot to launch an attack. The summit peaks at merely 435 metres, yet this is the highest point of today’s route.

Following the descent the route continues on rolling roads along the Galician coast – as rugged as enchanting – to turn inland in Porto do Barqueiro. At kilometre 124 the Alto de San Pedro appears. The first 3 kilometres go up at 7% – and feature 300 metres with double digit gradients – before a short drop leads to the less steep second part. The Alto de San Pedro amounts to 7.4 kilometres, while its average gradient is 4.9%.

Some 31 kilometres before the line a 2.9 kilometres hill at 6% sets the tone for the finale, as a string of short climbs mark the last 20 kilometres. Basically, the route heads from one hill to the next – 1 kilometre at 4.5% (with 18.4 kilometres left), 2.8 kilometres at 5% (14.2 kilometres left), 2.4 kilometres at 4.6% (9.2 kilometres left), 1.7 kilometres at 3.5% (5.2 kilometres left), and 1.2 kilometres at 2.6% (3.2 kilometres left).

La Vuelta once again moves through Porto do Barqueiro before the roads start to become more narrow in the last 7 kilometres and even tighter 1.5 kilometres before the line. Obviously, this is good news for attackers, as it will be hard to chase them down on alley-wide roads. The finish is at Faro de Estaca de Bares, the northernmost part of Spain.

The finale is further pepped up by a 1.2 kilometres drop with 2.6 kilometres to go before a 400 metres uphill kick at 2.8% runs to the last kilometre. These are slightly descending at 3%.

stage-12-profile.jpg


Up & down last 5 km
stage-12-5km.jpg


Map showing a lot of coastal roads -
stage-12-route.jpg
 
The all important weather forecast is for rain showers all day and a gusty north easterly wind. Only 17C.

Edit - the last 50 km into a headwind and possible rain, up & down as only the Vuelta can - it will take a strong man to win from a breakaway.
 
Looks like a danger stage for GC riders. Wind, rain, hills and narrow roads and pressure on to stay near the front of the bunch. Someone is sure to be caught out. Maybe another one for the break depending on the wind although there will also be a lot of tired riders from yesterday.
 
Re:

Zinoviev Letter said:
I’m beginning to think that whoever draws the official stage profiles is messing with the sprinter’s heads deliberately.


LOL, who knows. Valverde said last year with the amount of climbing they leave out of profiles he's wondered if they are afraid of scaring off riders.

However, how exactly did that much climbing in a stage constitute a sprinters' stage?
 
Re:

movingtarget said:
Looks like a danger stage for GC riders. Wind, rain, hills and narrow roads and pressure on to stay near the front of the bunch. Someone is sure to be caught out. Maybe another one for the break depending on the wind although there will also be a lot of tired riders from yesterday.
Winds are forecast to be 16 MPH steady coming in from the ocean from the northeast. So that means an unhelpful crosswind for the entire coastal portion of the stage, and probably some echelon-type riding . Then the finish of the route turns around, and heads towards the lighthouse to the northeast, so it will be more of a headwind at the end.