Cycling Weekly | August 22, 2019 | 27STAGESJust look at the rudimentary profile of this stage. Or perhaps
the word is just ‘rude’. Three hulking climbs on the face of it,
although if you study the detail more closely you’ll see the final
haul comprises three distinct steps in itself. In all then, that ’s
five classified climbs in under 100km. A ll at relatively high
altitude too. A nd, as if that ’s not enough, there’s a 4km gravel
section chucked in on that little plateau before the final climb.
Well, why not? We’re in A ndorra, now home to epic Vuelta
stages. A nd a growing number of professional cyclists,
attracted by the Pyrenean principality ’s high passes, thin air
and low tax rates. A mongst its residents are nine-time Vuelta
stage winner Joaquim Rodríguez who, for the 2015 Vuelta,
designed a 138km stage that much of this leg takes shape from.
The winner on the steep slopes of Cortals d’Encamp then was
Mikel Landa. Last year, a similar stage was where Simon Yates,
another local resident, signed and sealed his overall victory.
“Eighty per cent of riders know those roads from previous
races, and quite a few live
in A ndorra,” says Ineos
DS Oli Cookson. “It ’s
going to be a short, sharp,
very hard stage.”
As well as all the
familiar climbs, “that
4km section of gravel is
where you could lose the
race,” warns Cookson, who recced the stage on his bike
earlier this summer. “It ’s not where you could win the race,
it ’s completely flat between those two climbs. But what
you don’t want to see from any side is one of the favourites
puncture or crash.”9
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1
ANDORRA LA VELLA>CORTALS D’ENCAMP | 9 4 .4KM | MOUNTAINLocal knowledge could count todayA fter three days on foreign turf, the Vuelta heads back across
the border towards Spain — albeit the independently minded
Basque region. Naturally, in this crinkled countryside, there
are a few little passes along the way, but nothing too troubling
for the GC race.
A mid-Vuelta transition day, then, and almost certainly one
to be settled from the breakaway. Opportunist Valerio Conti
won when a Vuelta stage concluded with a comparable circuit
around Urdax in 2016.Pau needs no introduction to Grand Tour followers. The Tour
de France pops by on almost every visit to the Pyrenees, often
making use of its plentiful hotels to enjoy a rest day here too.
Now the Vuelta wants in on the inaction, enjoying a rest day
itself, before mimicking the 2019 Tour and also running a
time trial in the French town’s surrounds.
Coming straight after the day off, the twists and climbs
around the Jurançon vineyards will not make it the easiest
route to pace. Being the only individual T T in the Vuelta,
some will be look ing to lay the foundations for overall victory.
10 11
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4
SAINT PALAIS>URDAX-
DANTXARINEA |
180 KM | HILLY*TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3
JURANÇON>PAU |
36 .2KM | INDIVIDUAL
TIME TRIALPhot
osGetty,^
Yuzuru^Sunada