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The riders get back into the proper mountains on Stage 14 of the 2015 la Vuelta a Espana with an uncategorised climb posing as the finish line rising almost 2000 metres above sea level. Join The Roar for live race updates and coverage from 10:00pm AEST.
The stage, while punishing enough also happens to be the longest of this year’s tour, a fact that will only add to the challenge of the day for the riders.
Finishing on an uncategorised climb will be an interesting test for the legs of those left in the General Classification race of La Vuelta after an opening 13 days that has seen Nario Quintana (Movistar), Chris Froome (Sky) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) all lose their way.
Stage 14 stretches 215 kilometres and is expected to run for well over six hours. Kicking off in Vitoria the stage will start with a mostly flat nature, although some lumps and bumps are recognisable throughout the first 100 kilometres, which you would expect to be raced fairly easily by all apart from a breakaway in anticipation of the final half of the stage.
After going through the feed zone in Barcenillas del Ribero after 91 kilometres there are only about 15 kilometres worth of flat left. After 107, the riders hit the first climb for the day, by far the easiest. The Purte Estacas de Trueba will stretch for 11 kilometres at an average gradient of 2.9 per cent and be a gentle way for the riders to start climbing.
Following that they head downhill, albeit quite gradually for about 25 kilometres and then go straight back uphill. The category one climb of the Puerto del Escudo is officially 11.5 kilometres long with an average gradient of 6.4 per cent. Making this climb so tough is the fact there is no downhill straight after it apart from a very short spike.
Instead the riders take on about 40 kilometres of flat and slightly undulating terrain. The intermediate sprint will come with 29 kilometres to go in the town of Reinosa before another 10 kilometres of flat are taken on.
The final, outside categorisation climb for the day of Fuente Del Chivo is officially 18 kilometres at an average grade of 5.5 per cent. However, this doesn’t even begin to explain the nature of the climb. With a very easy start and a flat section coming about five kilometres from the end, the average gradient of the rest of the climb is closer to 7 per cent.
The final two kilometres then ramp up to around 9 per cent in what should be an epic finish to the stage.
With so many General Classification casualties so far in the race, it is going to be interesting to see who rises to the fore. If you look at the start list then Nairo Quintana (Movistar) becomes the automatic favourite, however he looks to be in shocking form after a strong Tour de France and has admitted to feeling ill.
Fabio Aru (Astana) currently leads the race and looks to be in good touch after his win in Andorra. Jaoquin Rodriguez (Katusha) doesn’t sit too far behind him on the General Classification and will be looking for another strong showing.
Other favourites for the day include Rafal Majka (Tinkoff – Saxo), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r La Mondiale), Esteban Chavez (Orica Orica-GreenEDGE) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar).
Prediction: It’s hard to go past Aru. He was ridiculously strong the other day and will be burning after his Giro let down earlier in the year. I’m going to tip Chavez to come in high up the order as well.
Join The Roar for live coverage of this stage from 10:00pm (AEST) and don’t forget to leave a comment if you are following along with the action!
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde