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Stage 15 of the 2013 Vuelta a Espana is the second and longest in the Pyrenees at a punishing 230km from Andorra to Peyragudes. We’ll have live updates from midnight.
The riders will be hoping for better conditions than yesterday, with several having to abandon Stage 14 with hypothermia due to the cold and wet, including Ivan Basso (Cannondale) and Luis Sanchez (Belkin).
There is not much respite in Stage 15, however, with the peloton crossing four peaks before finishing at the summit of a fifth.
The highest is the second Puerto de la Bonaigua at 2090m, a 12.5 percent maximum gradient, but the steepest is the climb to this finish, maximum gradient 13.3 percent.
The Vuelta may not be won by those who have a good day today, but it will be lost by those who have a bad one.
Look for race leader to control the race as he did yesterday and attack his closest rivals in Chris Horner (Leopard) and Allessandro Valverde (Movistar) should the opportunity allow.
Vallverde will be looking to put in a good performance on a stage in which he has had previous success, and will hope to gain back some of the 1:40 that Nibali has on him in this year’s general classification.
One thing is for sure – by the time the leaders start the final climb the peloton will have been well and truly broken apart by this punishing route.
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