Last chance saloon for anyone who isn't a climber or a time-trialist. While the route really isn't all that hard outside of Puerto Herrera, it's hard to see things being kept together.
It's the only Basque stage of this year's edition, although southern Álava isn't exactly the most Basque part of the region. Start and finish are comfortably close enough together for a TT, but with Madrid already taking up that slot we get a mostly rolling stage with one big climb instead. Things get going with a hilly section heading east from the provincial capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, with the main feature being Alto de la Tejera. It's the final 3.9k of the profile below.
Following a flat intermezzo along the Ebro, it's time for the first KOM, Alto de Rivas de Tereso from its easy side.
The summit of this climb is on the border with La Rioja, and so we leave Basque territory altogether for a bit, looping through Spain's best-known vineyards that straddle the border here. Soon, it's back into Álava and onwards to the main course of the day, Puerto Herrera. This was a staple of the El Correo era of the Vuelta, but has not been seen from its hardest side since 1978 (the only ascent since then coming two years ago, from the side descended here). Although normally too far from the finish to tempt the GC riders, it should really whittle down the break.
After the descent, there are 40 kilometres left to go. None of them are particularly hard, but there are three small climbs to deal with. The first of these, Alto de Mendilicia, comes at the very beginning of this section.
A valley road takes the riders through the intermediate sprint in Villafria to the edge of the Izki Natural Park, where the terrain is more undulating. Even so, this side of Alto de San Román de Campezo (the first 6k of the profile below) isn't exactly a monster.
Its descent backs directly into the final hill, Alto de Mantxibio.
The final descent is short, but somewhat technical and lasts until just before the flamme rouge - I really hope we don't get another shock sprint finish here. The final 700 metres run gently uphill.
It's the only Basque stage of this year's edition, although southern Álava isn't exactly the most Basque part of the region. Start and finish are comfortably close enough together for a TT, but with Madrid already taking up that slot we get a mostly rolling stage with one big climb instead. Things get going with a hilly section heading east from the provincial capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, with the main feature being Alto de la Tejera. It's the final 3.9k of the profile below.
Following a flat intermezzo along the Ebro, it's time for the first KOM, Alto de Rivas de Tereso from its easy side.
The summit of this climb is on the border with La Rioja, and so we leave Basque territory altogether for a bit, looping through Spain's best-known vineyards that straddle the border here. Soon, it's back into Álava and onwards to the main course of the day, Puerto Herrera. This was a staple of the El Correo era of the Vuelta, but has not been seen from its hardest side since 1978 (the only ascent since then coming two years ago, from the side descended here). Although normally too far from the finish to tempt the GC riders, it should really whittle down the break.
After the descent, there are 40 kilometres left to go. None of them are particularly hard, but there are three small climbs to deal with. The first of these, Alto de Mendilicia, comes at the very beginning of this section.
A valley road takes the riders through the intermediate sprint in Villafria to the edge of the Izki Natural Park, where the terrain is more undulating. Even so, this side of Alto de San Román de Campezo (the first 6k of the profile below) isn't exactly a monster.
Its descent backs directly into the final hill, Alto de Mantxibio.
The final descent is short, but somewhat technical and lasts until just before the flamme rouge - I really hope we don't get another shock sprint finish here. The final 700 metres run gently uphill.
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