- Sep 20, 2017
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Starting this thread with a request on my part: for the sake of our poor moderation team, I think it would be better if this thread is not used for discussing the protests of the previous stage in any way, unless any events as a result of them pertaining specifically to this stage unfold.
In a Vuelta with quite a few stages that don’t make sense, this one perhaps takes the cake. Collado de Brenes is a good climb, but the distance to the finish is considerable and the Angliru is looming large. Another day for the non-GC climbers?
Map and profile
Start
A short hop across the regional and linguistic border has brought the peloton into Cantabria, where they will start in Laredo. The early history of the region follows a similar pattern to the rest of the northern coastal regions: occupied by a tribe that gives the region its name (in this case the Cantabri) since prehistoric times, a backwater in Roman times, and then a reasonably autonomous duchy under nominal Visigothic rule. In the early 8th century, it became one of very few parts of Spain where no form of permanent Umayyad control was established. Although the invading forces did make it to this region, they soon faced a major rebellion by the Asturians. Both the Asturian soon-to-be-king Pelagius (or Pelayo in Spanish) and the most important battle of the rebellion, at Covadonga, have reached an almost mythological status in Spain. Cantabria became part of the kingdom he carved out, and with this kingdom now being the sole region in Iberia under Christian rule, there was a great population influx due to migration. Thus, the north coast shed its peripheral status, and while this change was not entirely permanent, it was never again as marginalised as it had been before the 8th century.
In the early 10th century, the capital of the kingdom was moved south of the mountains to León, was rechristened the Kingdom of León, and became more southern-oriented. At its peak in the 11th century, this kingdom ruled over a third of Iberia, reaching as far southeast as Madrid and Toledo. However, León gradually came to be dominated by their former vassals, the kings of Castilla, being definitively annexed in 1301. Prior to the acquisition of León, Cantabria was the sole coastal region of Castilla. Thus, the area was essential if Castilla was to benefit from overseas trade. The result was the establishment of the Four Cities (in chronological order, Castro Urdiales, Santander, Laredo and San Vicente de la Barquera) in the late 12th and early 13th century. All four were small towns that were officially granted the status of city, together with significant trading privileges. The Cantabrian ports remained the most important on the Spanish north coast until the 16th century, and with trade volumes in Western Europe generally on the rise in this period, it should not be a surprise that Laredo reached its peak in the latter stages of this era, with its significance reflected by the much larger city in Texas that is named after it. It was also where Emperor Charles V, the only man to simultaneously rule over what thereafter became the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg domains, re-entered the country in 1556 upon his formal abdication in Brussels.
The golden age was not to last forever. The constant warfare by Habsburg Spain disrupted trade, the reorientation of trade networks after the colonisation of the Americas meant that Cantabria’s position became much less beneficial, and in Laredo itself the situation was compounded by a French sacking in 1639. Cantabrian trade recovered in the 18th century, but became much more centred in Santander. As a result, all that remained of the once-flourishing port in Laredo was its fishing sector. It did not help that said port now was silting up. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, the improvement of food preservation techniques led to something of a revival, with both fisheries and the associated food processing sector growing rapidly. Moreover, starting in the same period but especially after the Second World War, the huge beach that was the reason for the silting up of the by then replaced harbour became a boon, as Laredo quickly developed into one of the most popular tourist towns in Cantabria. The town is hosting the Vuelta for the third time, most recently for the start of a sprint stage in 2021, although the women’s race also visited in 2023 (this was Gaia Realini’s breakthrough victory).
(picture by Pedro Mena at Flickr)
The route
No coastal sojourn for the riders today, instead the stage starts by heading inland up the Asón valley as far as Arredondo. This village is where the climb to Los Machucos starts, but as 32 kilometres into the day is a bit early to reach a MTF, it should not come as a surprise that that isn’t where we’re headed. However, there is still a climb to deal with: the Puerto de Alisas, sadly via the main road (there is a much steeper variant).
The two main descents on this stage are somewhat technical, definitely more testing than what has been the norm this Vuelta. However, this first descent should not have a major impact, as it backs into almost 30 kilometres of flat that can be used to close gaps. This easy section ends with the minor climb up Alto de San Martín.
Its descent backs into the Alto de Hijas, which is not much harder.
By the time the next descent ends, we are on the outskirts of Los Corrales de Buelna, and indeed the route passes the finish here, albeit from the wrong side. One village prior to this first crossing of the finish line, there is the intermediate sprint in Barros. On the other side of town, there’s a pretty hard climb. Collada de Brenes has been used once before, in the 2022 stage to Pico Jano where Jay Vine broke through for good and Remco Evenepoel delivered a hammer blow in the GC battle. In theory this is hard enough for GC action, but with 22.9 kilometres to go after its summit, Angliru coming up on the next stage and the GC situation the way it is, I’m not convinced anything will materialise.
The descent is narrow by Spanish standards, but otherwise not too bad. After the riders reach the valley, they have 15 kilometres left to race. Unipublic has studiously avoided all other climbs in the area (the shortish but steep Collado de Cieza, which the Vuelta used the only other time it finished here in 1999, was literally right there). The finish comes 400 metres after a roundabout and the road has three slight bends after that, so any sort of sprint has an increased potential for shenanigans.
Finish
Los Corrales de Buelna is a mid-sized industrial town in the Besaya valley that was of little significance until the second half of the 19th century. Although some economic development started after the arrival of the railway in 1858, a much more significant process was kickstarted in the 1870s. In that decade, a local entrepreneur started to almost singlehandedly develop the industry of the town, initially in steel and iron but later also in chemicals. Much of the town’s housing stock was constructed by the company and both industries remain pivotal to the local economy. On the outskirts of town, there is a small velodrome, named after José Antonio Gonzales de Linares, who was born in neighbouring San Felices de Buelna and in the 1970s won Itzulia no fewer than four times (making him the joint record holder together with none other than Alberto Contador) as well as three stages in this race and a Tour stage. In the Vuelta, aside from that stage finish in 1999 (victory for Laurent Brochard), it has only hosted a stage start in 2016 (the Bilbao stage won by Jens Keukeleire).
(picture by Estudio Bituno at Panoramio, reuploaded to Wikimedia Commons)
In a Vuelta with quite a few stages that don’t make sense, this one perhaps takes the cake. Collado de Brenes is a good climb, but the distance to the finish is considerable and the Angliru is looming large. Another day for the non-GC climbers?
Map and profile
Start
A short hop across the regional and linguistic border has brought the peloton into Cantabria, where they will start in Laredo. The early history of the region follows a similar pattern to the rest of the northern coastal regions: occupied by a tribe that gives the region its name (in this case the Cantabri) since prehistoric times, a backwater in Roman times, and then a reasonably autonomous duchy under nominal Visigothic rule. In the early 8th century, it became one of very few parts of Spain where no form of permanent Umayyad control was established. Although the invading forces did make it to this region, they soon faced a major rebellion by the Asturians. Both the Asturian soon-to-be-king Pelagius (or Pelayo in Spanish) and the most important battle of the rebellion, at Covadonga, have reached an almost mythological status in Spain. Cantabria became part of the kingdom he carved out, and with this kingdom now being the sole region in Iberia under Christian rule, there was a great population influx due to migration. Thus, the north coast shed its peripheral status, and while this change was not entirely permanent, it was never again as marginalised as it had been before the 8th century.
In the early 10th century, the capital of the kingdom was moved south of the mountains to León, was rechristened the Kingdom of León, and became more southern-oriented. At its peak in the 11th century, this kingdom ruled over a third of Iberia, reaching as far southeast as Madrid and Toledo. However, León gradually came to be dominated by their former vassals, the kings of Castilla, being definitively annexed in 1301. Prior to the acquisition of León, Cantabria was the sole coastal region of Castilla. Thus, the area was essential if Castilla was to benefit from overseas trade. The result was the establishment of the Four Cities (in chronological order, Castro Urdiales, Santander, Laredo and San Vicente de la Barquera) in the late 12th and early 13th century. All four were small towns that were officially granted the status of city, together with significant trading privileges. The Cantabrian ports remained the most important on the Spanish north coast until the 16th century, and with trade volumes in Western Europe generally on the rise in this period, it should not be a surprise that Laredo reached its peak in the latter stages of this era, with its significance reflected by the much larger city in Texas that is named after it. It was also where Emperor Charles V, the only man to simultaneously rule over what thereafter became the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg domains, re-entered the country in 1556 upon his formal abdication in Brussels.
The golden age was not to last forever. The constant warfare by Habsburg Spain disrupted trade, the reorientation of trade networks after the colonisation of the Americas meant that Cantabria’s position became much less beneficial, and in Laredo itself the situation was compounded by a French sacking in 1639. Cantabrian trade recovered in the 18th century, but became much more centred in Santander. As a result, all that remained of the once-flourishing port in Laredo was its fishing sector. It did not help that said port now was silting up. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, the improvement of food preservation techniques led to something of a revival, with both fisheries and the associated food processing sector growing rapidly. Moreover, starting in the same period but especially after the Second World War, the huge beach that was the reason for the silting up of the by then replaced harbour became a boon, as Laredo quickly developed into one of the most popular tourist towns in Cantabria. The town is hosting the Vuelta for the third time, most recently for the start of a sprint stage in 2021, although the women’s race also visited in 2023 (this was Gaia Realini’s breakthrough victory).
(picture by Pedro Mena at Flickr)
The route
No coastal sojourn for the riders today, instead the stage starts by heading inland up the Asón valley as far as Arredondo. This village is where the climb to Los Machucos starts, but as 32 kilometres into the day is a bit early to reach a MTF, it should not come as a surprise that that isn’t where we’re headed. However, there is still a climb to deal with: the Puerto de Alisas, sadly via the main road (there is a much steeper variant).
The two main descents on this stage are somewhat technical, definitely more testing than what has been the norm this Vuelta. However, this first descent should not have a major impact, as it backs into almost 30 kilometres of flat that can be used to close gaps. This easy section ends with the minor climb up Alto de San Martín.
Its descent backs into the Alto de Hijas, which is not much harder.
By the time the next descent ends, we are on the outskirts of Los Corrales de Buelna, and indeed the route passes the finish here, albeit from the wrong side. One village prior to this first crossing of the finish line, there is the intermediate sprint in Barros. On the other side of town, there’s a pretty hard climb. Collada de Brenes has been used once before, in the 2022 stage to Pico Jano where Jay Vine broke through for good and Remco Evenepoel delivered a hammer blow in the GC battle. In theory this is hard enough for GC action, but with 22.9 kilometres to go after its summit, Angliru coming up on the next stage and the GC situation the way it is, I’m not convinced anything will materialise.
The descent is narrow by Spanish standards, but otherwise not too bad. After the riders reach the valley, they have 15 kilometres left to race. Unipublic has studiously avoided all other climbs in the area (the shortish but steep Collado de Cieza, which the Vuelta used the only other time it finished here in 1999, was literally right there). The finish comes 400 metres after a roundabout and the road has three slight bends after that, so any sort of sprint has an increased potential for shenanigans.
Finish
Los Corrales de Buelna is a mid-sized industrial town in the Besaya valley that was of little significance until the second half of the 19th century. Although some economic development started after the arrival of the railway in 1858, a much more significant process was kickstarted in the 1870s. In that decade, a local entrepreneur started to almost singlehandedly develop the industry of the town, initially in steel and iron but later also in chemicals. Much of the town’s housing stock was constructed by the company and both industries remain pivotal to the local economy. On the outskirts of town, there is a small velodrome, named after José Antonio Gonzales de Linares, who was born in neighbouring San Felices de Buelna and in the 1970s won Itzulia no fewer than four times (making him the joint record holder together with none other than Alberto Contador) as well as three stages in this race and a Tour stage. In the Vuelta, aside from that stage finish in 1999 (victory for Laurent Brochard), it has only hosted a stage start in 2016 (the Bilbao stage won by Jens Keukeleire).
(picture by Estudio Bituno at Panoramio, reuploaded to Wikimedia Commons)
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