First Week
The race starts off with an interesting prologue in Burgos, although short it can set some seconds apart between the GC contenders, the route starts off with a slight ascent up to the city castle and descend back down the road that the riders go up in Vuelta a Burgos, a very complicated day to predict.
Get the show on the road, sprinters will get their first opportunity.
Stage number 3 is in a brutal summit finish, Picon Blanco is also a familiar face in the Vuelta a Burgos, a steep excruciating ascent, very exposed, and the stage is all about this one ascent, set to take the GC fight head on very early already.
Sprinters stage number 2, at high altitude I must say.
Sprinter stage number 3, pan-flat and quite exposed, dangerous day, specially if it's hot (which is likely).
A whole flat stage, descending actually with a nice ride by the Mediteraneen sea, until they reach a steep hilltop finale. Very similar to Cumbre del Sol, a climb in the middle of an urbanization, but shorter.
In Alicante the riders will have a mountain stage, familiar roads to many, the Balcón de Alicante is an interesting finale where a breakaway is likely to win, if not then a GC fight is on the table.
Sprinter stage number 4, the final chance in the opening week.
Velefique is back on the route, the Andalusian mountains are hard and hot you know that very well, however this is one of the most beautiful climbs in pro cycling, coming in the end of a hard day marked by the rolling roads and the long climbs to wrap off the first week.
Second Week
A really interesting stage to begin the transition week, this is a stage that should see a breakaway take the win, if not a battle between some puncheurs and climbers will take place in the steep Puerto de Almáchar, before a descent almost to the line.
Valdepeñas de Jaen is possibly the most famous Spanish Murito, this will be an exciting finale no matter what happens, a brutally steep finale is one of the Vuelta's trademarks.
Córdoba takes in an interesting stage, suited to a breakaway, it features some decent climbs that aren't too hard but will allow a big amount of riders to ambition a big win.
Sprinter stage number 5.
The Pico Villuercas stage is one of the stages the Vuelta has designed really well this year, the first half is almost all flat, the second half is really hard, super tricky, raiding territory with a first ascent that is incredibly steep, a lot of small hills until the final climb which in itself is very long and inconsistent, perfect for attacks.
Final stage of the second week, and I won't lie it's a good format for a raiding stage aswell, really well designed. Unfortunately the Puerto de Mijares averages just 5.5%, but there is nonetheless a good chance we see some big moves on this day, as the riders will rest up the next day, there are plenty chances to try and blow up the race here.
Third Week
Classic Vuelta sprint stage, this one is complicated, it has several dangerous little ascents in the final half of the stage which makes this a very hard day to control, the rouleurs will be licking their lips with the opportunity to elude the peloton.
The Asturias are present every year, unfortunately the organizers always put a brutal summit finish on the end of the stage which means we won't be seeing any long distance moves, however we can still expect quite a lot of spectacle, the Lagos de Covadonga climb is always a very attacked one, an explosive one where you can't hide.
And this is the big Asturian monster of the year, the first time actually that the big Altu D'El Gamoniteiru will be used in the Vuelta, it's actually a big portion of the Cobertoria ascent with an added final - and quite steep - section. Queen stage, I would say (but maybe not the one that'll see the biggest differences.
Breakaway stage certainly, although the second half has roads where it's possible to reel in some moves, the start of the stage is quite hard and not to expect a brilliant group in front would be quite naive.
Galicia will host the finale of the race with a time-trial but beforehand they have this stage and man, the Vuelta organizers really did their homework this year. Innovation is important in GT's and quite regularly (here included) it's overlooked. Not this year, the route is very mixed, and this final road stage is quite a different look in relation to the normal final mountain stages. If you know the region you know how hard this will be, over 4000 meters of climbing, a very complicated start and very few flat meters, and the second half of the stage features quite a lot of different climbs, mostly short, some steep, very explosive, a very weird yet interesting finale to the Vuelta.
Not even the time-trial is flat, make no mistake this race is NOT at all friendly for time-trialists, this one is far from a regular one, ridden in the rompe piernas roads with a couple hilltops mixed in, before the final in Santiago de Compostela's cathedral.
Stage Importance
⭐ 5
This route is really good. I like it, I have particular interest in how GT's are designed and although I'm aware a big portion of the country, around Catalunya and the Pyrinees have been ignored this year, they've gotten that attention very well in past editions, so the fact that they bring in other regions into the spotlight frequently is exactly the diversity GT's need to stay exciting.
There are brutal summit finishes, in long ascents in the Asturias but also in quite small hilltop finishes like Valdepeñas de Jaen. The prologue is exciting, there is a brutal summit finish on stage 3, there are plenty stages for the sprinters, and always stages designed specially for the breakaway opportunists, everyone will have their chance.
Also I love the fact that they haven't did the classic "mountain stage with a brutal stage the next day" which always blocks the mountain stages and is, specially in the Tour, very normal unfortunately. There is Covadonga, but it's hard enough of a stage so that the race won't be blocked. And in that subject the race did really well, splitting the main stages throughout the 3 weeks, and having the final mountain stage an absolute wildcard where everything can happen, and will surely see many of the GC contenders out of their confort zone.
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