- Sep 20, 2017
- 12,117
- 22,961
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The third week starts like the second one ended, with a stage modeled on one from the 2021 edition. This is the best-designed stage of the race, but with a big MTF the day after (they really should have put the rest day after this stage), will it be raced accordingly?
Map and profile
Start
The final week starts from the Galician west coast, in the suburbs of Pontevedra. The municipality of Poio (or Poyo, in Spanish) comprises multiple towns, and we are indeed not starting from Poio itself (the route passes through it just after the flag drops), but in the older, more scenic fishing port Combarro. However, neither Poio nor Combarro is the oldest part of the municipality. That honour goes to the monastery of San Xoan/San Juan, which traces its roots back to the 7th century (the current construction is 16th to 18th century). The monastery was historically the main source of local power – Comborro came under its control from the 12th century and this situation was at least partially maintained until the 19th century.
In the 20th century, the centre of gravity shifted decisively towards Poio itself. Although there had been a small town here for quite some time (it is one of the less likely claimants to being Christopher Columbus’ birthplace), the reason for this was its proximity to Pontevedra (the centre of which is essentially within walking distance). The development of commuter traffic, coupled with some minor industry of its own and tourism in Combarro in particular, has led to the population more than doubling since 1960. This is the second time the municipality has hosted the Vuelta: Monte Castrove, where Fabio Aru won in 2014, is within its borders.
Combarro (picture by Juanje Orío at Flickr)
The route
The stage starts by heading through Poio proper and then crossing the Lérez river into Pontevedra. This city was the most important in Galicia in the 15th and 16th centuries, until the silting up of the mouth of the Lérez meant its port became less viable. In the 20th century, it became a hotbed of Galician nationalism, with the Galicianist Party (which then became the main political vehicle of the movement) being founded here in 1931. The party managed to get an autonomy statute approved by referendum in 1936, but this was never adopted. The Spanish right refused to accept the results, and with the Spanish Civil War breaking out three weeks later and Galicia quickly falling to the Francoists, the end result was not autonomy, but the execution of most of the prominent party members who had been unable to flee. Galician autonomy would not be granted until 1981. Compared to the Basque Country and Catalonia, this new status quo enjoyed far more widespread support in Galicia: on the one hand, the regional branches of the main national parties in Galicia were more open to regionalism than their counterparts elsewhere in the country, and on the other hand Galician nationalists were initially accepting too. In more recent decades, support for full independence has risen, but remains significantly lower than among Basques and Catalans.
As for Pontevedra itself, the 21st century has been characterised by the most progressive urban planning in Spain, with a heavy emphasis on prioritising pedestrianisation and greenery over cars. The net result is that the city is the only one in Galicia that is currently experiencing population growth, which in turn has led to national and international recognition.
Moving back to the stage, the first 74 kilometres are fairly easy, with the main climb being the Alto das Penas about 25 kilometres into the day.
After the descent of this climb, we pass through Ponteareas, hometown of the Rodríguez brothers. The eldest, Delio, was the most successful of the four, winning 39 Vuelta stages (still the record) between 1941 and 1947 (with the race not being held in 1943 or 1944) as well as the GC in 1945. After Delio retired in 1948, his younger brother Emilio reached his zenith. He had already won the KOM jersey twice, taken a stage win and finished second on GC between 1946 and 1948, but then the Vuelta ran into major organisational issues during what should have been his best years, only being held once in the 1949-1954 period. That year was 1950, and Emilio pounced in style, winning the GC, five stages and the KOM. Second on GC was the youngest brother, Manuel. Unlike their elder brothers (the second, Pastor, also raced three Vueltas, but with far less success), Emilio and Manuel then tried their hand at the then far bigger Tour and Giro, but without much success, and by the time the Vuelta returned for good in 1955, neither was really a factor anymore. Ponteareas still had another Vuelta winner left, in 1986’s surprise winner Álvaro Pino. Although Pino defeated Philippa York that year courtesy of his time-trialing ability on a course weak on mountains, he did also win the KOM two years later, in addition to five stages, a further five top-tens, as well as managing eighth at the Tour twice.
So, plenty of cycling to talk about in this part of the stage, just not in terms of the route. That changes when the riders reach Tui/Tuy, within spitting distance of Portugal. Here, the route finally heads for the low coastal mountain range that defines the stage. The first climb, Alto de San Antoniño, is still pretty easy.
The riders then embark on a circuit of which they do almost exactly one loop (leaving it a couple of hundred metres into what would have been the second time round). This section starts by descending into Baiona/Bayona, where Wout van Aert won the stage last year, and then heading up what was the final descent that day. I had a hard time finding a non-automatically generated profile of the exact side they’re doing, so I had to use the rather cluttered one below. They do the little inset profile, followed by the final 8.05k of the main profile (from the junction to Baiña onwards).
(another reupload, source is puertos-pontevedra.blogspot.com)
The long descent is broken into two parts by the final 4.6 kilometres of Alto de Vilachán.
The final part of the circuit is the wide, but decently steep uncategorised climb up Alto do Tebra, which is the final 4.8k of the profile below.
And then, after the shallow descent (which for some reason contains the intermediate sprint in Couso), it’s time for a really good change compared to the already-great 2021 stage. The penultimate climb is still Alto de/do Prado, but they take a different way up this time. We aren’t descending all the way to the coast, so the comparatively easy lower slopes have been scrapped. The first part of today’s KOM was also used in the 2021 stage, but it isn’t long at all before the route turns left onto a road that soon turns horribly steep. As in, miniature version of Angliru steep. This is the single best place in this Vuelta to attack before the final climb, let’s hope someone makes it count.
The ensuing descent is the same it was in 2021, with an interruption halfway through by the name of Alto da Abelenda.
Then at last, it’s on to the MTF, Castro de Herville/Erville. Like with the previous climb, there’s a twist, albeit a more minor one: we are taking a different route through Herville, adding another little wall to an already-irregular climb. Said wall ends just inside the final kilometre.
Finish
The municipality of Mos, in which we are finishing, is not really a town, but rather a group of small villages that, over the course of the past century, have become part of a wide swath of exurban development. We can no longer really speak of any rural areas, nor find clear boundaries (other than the administrative ones) between the villages, nor is there anything resembling a town centre. In other words, whereas Pontevedra is often presented as a model of good urban design, then this area can serve as an example of how not to develop an exurban area of a major city (in this case Vigo).
Okay, that’s enough of the Devil’s Elbow Rants About Places That Paid Good Money To Host Good Stages Show (I may need to workshop that title) for today. Aside from commuter traffic to Vigo, Mos also has some major economic activity in its own right. The airport is partially within its borders, there is chemical and pharmaceutical industry and in more recent times, a number of logistical centres have been developed. The municipality is also somewhat notable for a number of prehistoric hillforts, including one in its southern tip: Castro de Herville. The site was later also used for a small castle in the 15th century, but sadly little remains of either. The mountain atop which it is situated was also used for the finish in 2021, the only previous stage in town. That was the day where Ineos blew up the peloton very far out, with the strongest GC riders catching up to the breakaway on the final climb, only to decide that they didn’t care about the stage, enabling the biggest win of Clément Champoussin’s career so far. But of course, that was especially the day where Miguel Ángel López had one of the most spectacular meltdowns in the history of the sport.
And finally, we cannot talk about Mos without talking about its most famous son, Óscar Pereiro. The 2006 Tour is recent enough that it won’t require introduction to most of you, but I want to talk about it anyway. Pereiro had finished tenth in the two previous editions, winning a stage (and quite literally selling another one to Hincapie) plus the combativity in the latter, and would achieve the same result in 2007. Those would have been the GT highlights of his career, and in fact that stage win would have been the outright highlight, had the shenanigans of the final eight stages of the 2006 edition not happened (or really the whole race – Operación Puerto had sent it into chaos on the eve of the Grand Départ). Pereiro had endured a torrid first 13 stages, losing almost half an hour on the only mountain stage up to that point (to Pla de Beret of all places – that route was terrible), when he entered a small breakaway and found the peloton happy to casually give away half an hour on the penultimate Saturday. On paper, his lead of 1:29 should not have been a problem, and indeed on the next mountain stage, up Alpe d’Huez, he shipped enough time to Landis, Klöden and to a lesser extent Sastre to lose the jersey to the former. And then, everything went really haywire. Amidst the madness of Landis’ fall and resurrection, it was easy to forget that Pereiro had done remarkably well, coming out of the Alps twelve seconds ahead of Sastre, half a minute up on Landis and 2:29 in front of Klöden, with only the final TT left to shake things up. Sastre lost a lot of time there, falling to fourth. Pereiro rode one of the best time trials of his life, managing fourth… but Klöden and Landis had finished second and third respectively, with the American taking yellow by a minute over Pereiro, Klöden being another half a minute down. Pereiro’s yellow dream was over… until Landis got popped a few weeks later, making Pereiro perhaps the unlikeliest winner in the history of the race.
I couldn’t find a good picture of Castro de Herville, so instead enjoy one of the man who contributed to the design of both stages that finished there (by elyob at Flickr)
Map and profile
Start
The final week starts from the Galician west coast, in the suburbs of Pontevedra. The municipality of Poio (or Poyo, in Spanish) comprises multiple towns, and we are indeed not starting from Poio itself (the route passes through it just after the flag drops), but in the older, more scenic fishing port Combarro. However, neither Poio nor Combarro is the oldest part of the municipality. That honour goes to the monastery of San Xoan/San Juan, which traces its roots back to the 7th century (the current construction is 16th to 18th century). The monastery was historically the main source of local power – Comborro came under its control from the 12th century and this situation was at least partially maintained until the 19th century.
In the 20th century, the centre of gravity shifted decisively towards Poio itself. Although there had been a small town here for quite some time (it is one of the less likely claimants to being Christopher Columbus’ birthplace), the reason for this was its proximity to Pontevedra (the centre of which is essentially within walking distance). The development of commuter traffic, coupled with some minor industry of its own and tourism in Combarro in particular, has led to the population more than doubling since 1960. This is the second time the municipality has hosted the Vuelta: Monte Castrove, where Fabio Aru won in 2014, is within its borders.
Combarro (picture by Juanje Orío at Flickr)
The route
The stage starts by heading through Poio proper and then crossing the Lérez river into Pontevedra. This city was the most important in Galicia in the 15th and 16th centuries, until the silting up of the mouth of the Lérez meant its port became less viable. In the 20th century, it became a hotbed of Galician nationalism, with the Galicianist Party (which then became the main political vehicle of the movement) being founded here in 1931. The party managed to get an autonomy statute approved by referendum in 1936, but this was never adopted. The Spanish right refused to accept the results, and with the Spanish Civil War breaking out three weeks later and Galicia quickly falling to the Francoists, the end result was not autonomy, but the execution of most of the prominent party members who had been unable to flee. Galician autonomy would not be granted until 1981. Compared to the Basque Country and Catalonia, this new status quo enjoyed far more widespread support in Galicia: on the one hand, the regional branches of the main national parties in Galicia were more open to regionalism than their counterparts elsewhere in the country, and on the other hand Galician nationalists were initially accepting too. In more recent decades, support for full independence has risen, but remains significantly lower than among Basques and Catalans.
As for Pontevedra itself, the 21st century has been characterised by the most progressive urban planning in Spain, with a heavy emphasis on prioritising pedestrianisation and greenery over cars. The net result is that the city is the only one in Galicia that is currently experiencing population growth, which in turn has led to national and international recognition.
Moving back to the stage, the first 74 kilometres are fairly easy, with the main climb being the Alto das Penas about 25 kilometres into the day.
After the descent of this climb, we pass through Ponteareas, hometown of the Rodríguez brothers. The eldest, Delio, was the most successful of the four, winning 39 Vuelta stages (still the record) between 1941 and 1947 (with the race not being held in 1943 or 1944) as well as the GC in 1945. After Delio retired in 1948, his younger brother Emilio reached his zenith. He had already won the KOM jersey twice, taken a stage win and finished second on GC between 1946 and 1948, but then the Vuelta ran into major organisational issues during what should have been his best years, only being held once in the 1949-1954 period. That year was 1950, and Emilio pounced in style, winning the GC, five stages and the KOM. Second on GC was the youngest brother, Manuel. Unlike their elder brothers (the second, Pastor, also raced three Vueltas, but with far less success), Emilio and Manuel then tried their hand at the then far bigger Tour and Giro, but without much success, and by the time the Vuelta returned for good in 1955, neither was really a factor anymore. Ponteareas still had another Vuelta winner left, in 1986’s surprise winner Álvaro Pino. Although Pino defeated Philippa York that year courtesy of his time-trialing ability on a course weak on mountains, he did also win the KOM two years later, in addition to five stages, a further five top-tens, as well as managing eighth at the Tour twice.
So, plenty of cycling to talk about in this part of the stage, just not in terms of the route. That changes when the riders reach Tui/Tuy, within spitting distance of Portugal. Here, the route finally heads for the low coastal mountain range that defines the stage. The first climb, Alto de San Antoniño, is still pretty easy.
The riders then embark on a circuit of which they do almost exactly one loop (leaving it a couple of hundred metres into what would have been the second time round). This section starts by descending into Baiona/Bayona, where Wout van Aert won the stage last year, and then heading up what was the final descent that day. I had a hard time finding a non-automatically generated profile of the exact side they’re doing, so I had to use the rather cluttered one below. They do the little inset profile, followed by the final 8.05k of the main profile (from the junction to Baiña onwards).
(another reupload, source is puertos-pontevedra.blogspot.com)
The long descent is broken into two parts by the final 4.6 kilometres of Alto de Vilachán.
The final part of the circuit is the wide, but decently steep uncategorised climb up Alto do Tebra, which is the final 4.8k of the profile below.
And then, after the shallow descent (which for some reason contains the intermediate sprint in Couso), it’s time for a really good change compared to the already-great 2021 stage. The penultimate climb is still Alto de/do Prado, but they take a different way up this time. We aren’t descending all the way to the coast, so the comparatively easy lower slopes have been scrapped. The first part of today’s KOM was also used in the 2021 stage, but it isn’t long at all before the route turns left onto a road that soon turns horribly steep. As in, miniature version of Angliru steep. This is the single best place in this Vuelta to attack before the final climb, let’s hope someone makes it count.
The ensuing descent is the same it was in 2021, with an interruption halfway through by the name of Alto da Abelenda.
Then at last, it’s on to the MTF, Castro de Herville/Erville. Like with the previous climb, there’s a twist, albeit a more minor one: we are taking a different route through Herville, adding another little wall to an already-irregular climb. Said wall ends just inside the final kilometre.
Finish
The municipality of Mos, in which we are finishing, is not really a town, but rather a group of small villages that, over the course of the past century, have become part of a wide swath of exurban development. We can no longer really speak of any rural areas, nor find clear boundaries (other than the administrative ones) between the villages, nor is there anything resembling a town centre. In other words, whereas Pontevedra is often presented as a model of good urban design, then this area can serve as an example of how not to develop an exurban area of a major city (in this case Vigo).
Okay, that’s enough of the Devil’s Elbow Rants About Places That Paid Good Money To Host Good Stages Show (I may need to workshop that title) for today. Aside from commuter traffic to Vigo, Mos also has some major economic activity in its own right. The airport is partially within its borders, there is chemical and pharmaceutical industry and in more recent times, a number of logistical centres have been developed. The municipality is also somewhat notable for a number of prehistoric hillforts, including one in its southern tip: Castro de Herville. The site was later also used for a small castle in the 15th century, but sadly little remains of either. The mountain atop which it is situated was also used for the finish in 2021, the only previous stage in town. That was the day where Ineos blew up the peloton very far out, with the strongest GC riders catching up to the breakaway on the final climb, only to decide that they didn’t care about the stage, enabling the biggest win of Clément Champoussin’s career so far. But of course, that was especially the day where Miguel Ángel López had one of the most spectacular meltdowns in the history of the sport.
And finally, we cannot talk about Mos without talking about its most famous son, Óscar Pereiro. The 2006 Tour is recent enough that it won’t require introduction to most of you, but I want to talk about it anyway. Pereiro had finished tenth in the two previous editions, winning a stage (and quite literally selling another one to Hincapie) plus the combativity in the latter, and would achieve the same result in 2007. Those would have been the GT highlights of his career, and in fact that stage win would have been the outright highlight, had the shenanigans of the final eight stages of the 2006 edition not happened (or really the whole race – Operación Puerto had sent it into chaos on the eve of the Grand Départ). Pereiro had endured a torrid first 13 stages, losing almost half an hour on the only mountain stage up to that point (to Pla de Beret of all places – that route was terrible), when he entered a small breakaway and found the peloton happy to casually give away half an hour on the penultimate Saturday. On paper, his lead of 1:29 should not have been a problem, and indeed on the next mountain stage, up Alpe d’Huez, he shipped enough time to Landis, Klöden and to a lesser extent Sastre to lose the jersey to the former. And then, everything went really haywire. Amidst the madness of Landis’ fall and resurrection, it was easy to forget that Pereiro had done remarkably well, coming out of the Alps twelve seconds ahead of Sastre, half a minute up on Landis and 2:29 in front of Klöden, with only the final TT left to shake things up. Sastre lost a lot of time there, falling to fourth. Pereiro rode one of the best time trials of his life, managing fourth… but Klöden and Landis had finished second and third respectively, with the American taking yellow by a minute over Pereiro, Klöden being another half a minute down. Pereiro’s yellow dream was over… until Landis got popped a few weeks later, making Pereiro perhaps the unlikeliest winner in the history of the race.
I couldn’t find a good picture of Castro de Herville, so instead enjoy one of the man who contributed to the design of both stages that finished there (by elyob at Flickr)
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