Vuelta a España - Stage 19 Preview

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The Basque flag

It's been more than three decades, but finally the Vuelta returns to the Basque Country - home of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team which is partially sponsored by the autonomous Basque government and of Movistar. Love of cycling is in the blood of the Basques: Iban Mayo, Haimar Zubeldia, David Etxebarria and the great Miguel Indurain are all from Euskadi, the name of the country in the unique Basque language.

The beautiful landscape of Euskadi

Basque nationalism has a long history, having emerged as a political movement during the 19th Century. However, the Spanish government chose to ignore the region's calls for self-determination. The combination of political disenfranchisement and leftist opposition to Franco's fascist regime (which, it should be remembered, used techniques no better than those used by terrorist groups, including torture and murder of unarmed civilians) led quickly to the formation of groups willing to use violence in an effort to get their message across. The most infamous of those groups is, of course, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, "Basque Homeland and Freedom." Formed in 1959 and deemed an illegal terrorist organisation by the European Union and United States, ETA's gudariak (Basque word for "warriors") waged a fierce war against the state and left a trail of death and destruction in their wake - at least 820 people, including 340 civilians (some of them children) have been killed by the group since it began growing strong towards the end of the 1960s. ETA - along with other groups such as Iparretarrak ("The Northerners"), Komando Autonomo Antikapitalistak ("Autonomous Anti-capitalist Commandos") and Kale Borroka ("Street Fighting," a loosely-organised group of leftist activists) - began to step up its activities in the late 1970s, with a particularly bloody year in 1980 when it was responsible for 92 killings, making it simply too dangerous to hold cycling events in the region.

Bilbao - largest city in Euskadi and one of Europe's finest

This was shown to be the case in 1992, when a car bomb expolded in an underground car park the day before the Tour de France was due to arrive, causing many of the riders to consider leaving the race (they were subsequently persuaded to continue). Then, in 2007, the Tour was directly attacked - two small bombs using ammonal, which ETA had the ability to manufacture and had used on numerous occasions, were detonated at the side of the road shortly after the Caravan had passed. Though the blasts were small and nobody was injured, investigation showed that the bombs had used 0.5-1kg of the explosive and had been disguised as discarded plastic food boxes, presumably with the intention of maiming spectators - the first ETA attack since a ceasefire declared in March of the previous year, not the first time the group had broken a declaration of peace. A third ceasefire was announced in September 2010, with the organisation stating that it intended to use peaceful, democratic means in its ongoing fight to achieve total independence from the Spanish government and, ideally, a restoration of Euskal Herria, the Greater Basque Country which includes territory in France. In January 2011, the ceasefire was declared permanent and, so far, it appears that ETA really have turned their backs on violence - thus, Unipublic have decided that the situation permits the Vuelta to return to the beautiful region. The Basque people will doubtless be overjoyed to see one of the greatest events in their most beloved sport once again take place in their nation. Expect a party!

Panoramic view of Santona and the National Park (CC2.5)

The stage begins with the usual neutral zone starting on the Calle Castrejón El Arenai in Noja, right next to the beach and at almost the same place Stage 18 drew to an end, and heads east for 60m to a roundabout and a right turn onto the Av. de los Ris which the peloton will follow for 1.24km before turning left onto the Av. de Santander. This will lead east to the Plaza Noja, with 90 degree left and right turns to follow for the Av. de Cantabria, joining with the Av. de Zent Mar at a roundabout. As the road curves and comes to the beach, it becomes the Paseo Trengandín leading out of town and becoming the CA-147. Having reached Helgueras, the road becomes known as the Paseo de Brusco for 0.49km section up to a roundabout where the route turns right onto what the race itinerary calls the Calle de las Igueras - our maps say it's the Calle de las Helgueras which, in view of the village's name, is more likely. Having followed this road for around 2km, the race reaches a junction with the CA-141 and turns left, reaching the end of the neutral zone 0.73km along the road at Copillo. Cerecedas is the first town, contiguous with Argoños where the peloton turn left at a roundabout to keep going along the CA-141, turning right at the next roundabout to follow the road over a bridge and past Berria before passing along a causeway through marshland (a National Park) into Santoña.

Fuerte de San Martin

Archaeology has shown that Santoña has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times with many discoveries dating from that period being found in the town and nearby, but it was under the Romans that it first became an important town - artifacts left by them, including a valuable hoard of coins unearthed at the Iglesia de Santa María de Puerto, suggest that it was a major settlement by the 1st Century. In common with most European towns, it declined following the demise of the Empire and by the Middle Ages was a small community centred on a monastery; the abbot - one Paterno - began a program very unusual for the day to reforest the area in 1038. From the 15th Century, the town began to grow very wealthy due to the development of a ship building industry. A boom period came in the early part of the 18th Century when the shipyards were given Royal status and a contract to build fifteen ships for the Spanish Navy. Ships are no longer built here, but the port and docks remain busy due to the extremely productive fishing fleet and canning plants. Santoña has much to offer the visitor, those who can tolerate the smell of the fish canneries, at any rate - including the church mentioned above, said to have been established by St. James in 37 CE but in fact of 13th Century construction, once part of the monastery; the 18th Century Palacio de Chiloeches which later served as a military hospital and a prison, nowadays back in private ownership but sadly in a poor state and far removed from its former grandeur; three forts (Fuerte de San Carlos, Fuerte de San Martin and Fuerte de Napoleón) and a monument to Luis Carrero Blanco - victim of an ETA assassination in 1973 and, as president of the ruling Falange and most likely figure to continue the fascist Franco regime following Franco's death, arguably no great loss to the world.

Palacio de Condestables

The Vuelta enters the town along the Calle de la Alameda, turning right at a roundabout topped with a sculpture of a human figure and moving onto the Calle de las Manzanedo and coming to another roundabout after 158m. Turning right again, the race enters the Calle de Baldomero Villegas and turns a 90 degree right onto the Calle de Marismas de Bengoa; then 90 degrees right again for the Carretera de Cicero - also known as the CA-241 - making its way via a series of bridges and causeways across the wide marshes and, 10.8km from the start of the race, dry land at a junction with the N-634. The parcours turns left and heads into Cicero, then left past a roundabout towards Treto and across a wide bridge for Colindres - this route offers excellent views of the new suspension bridge just to the south. The race moves into town along the Calle de la Mar, contiguous with the Calles de Sainz Ezquerra, de la Magdalena and Ramón Pelayo. The latter takes the race to a pair of roundabouts on the edge of town - the left route about the first is the better option as it will line up the riders for an easy route about the second and the correct exit along the N-634. Colindres is a town split into two: Colindres de arriba is the older part with more to interest the tourist and Colindres de abajo is the modern part, where many of the residents work.

Casa de Musica

The majority of people would list Palacio del Condestable as the finest building in Colindres, despite having lain in ruins ever since an attack by French pirates in 1639; but for us the modernist Casa de Musica is by far the better structure.

Laredo is reached 15.7km from the start and hosts the first of the stage's two intermediate sprints beginning on the Calle del Duque de la Ahumada as it heads into the Plaza Capuchinos followed by the Plaza de la Constitución which is contiguous with the Calles de Revellón and del Emperador. At the end, the road suddenly takes a 180 degree bend and becomes the Calle de las Escalerillas and taking in a sweeping left before a tight hairpin. Gentle right and left bends lead south-west to a junction with the A-8 motorway with the race turning right to continue on the N-634 and along a straight 1.24km stretch into Tarrueza. More unchallenging bends lead to Liendo and Iseca Vieja before the race reaches a pair of very wide 180 degree bends, one left and one right to form a giant S - while the bends aren't a problem, the road does climb quite steeply here and rises almost 60m in 0.64km: a gradient of just over 10%. It continues to rise - more gently now - into the forest and heading south-east to the A-8, then swooping north-east before an easy 90 degree right carries the peloton into a descent and across a fly-over. Having passed by a junction on the left, the road enters a twisty section featuring a medium 90 degree right, medium 90 degree left, gentle right before a 130m straight, then a tight 90 degree left, tight 110 degree right and and a final medium 90 degree left before leaving the forest behind. After following the river for a short way it turns an easy 90 degree left onto a high, slightly curving bridge and turns 90 degrees right onto the CA-151 to head through more forest to Rioseco 33km from the start.

Iglesia de San Vicente, Rioseco (from Sobre Cantabria)

This Rioseco, rather confusingly one of three villages in Cantabria and seven throughout Spain to bear the name, is famous for the 16th Century Iglesia de San Vicente de la Maza, considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in the province. Surrounded on all sides by trees, only the tower and upper part of the roof can be seen from a distance but it's well worth a closer look. Remaining ont he same road, the peloton will pass by the church before reaching Guriezo where they'll turn left at the roundabout for the CA-520. The first climb - Category 3 Puerto de la Granja with 370m of climbing in 7km - begins at this point.

A tight 90 degree right and medium-tight left at Francos lead into a short descent along the straight road to Balbacienta, the road sweeping right to avoid the village as the climb really begins. A 90 degree left lies just beyond the last house on the left, followed by an equally technical right 160m ahead. The first hairpin, a left, comes three-quarters of a kilometre later. A right comes 210m after that, then a left 170m after that and a final right 110m later. All of them are wide and not especially steep, making it a relatively unchallenging section. An easy left/right Z-bend follows, then the race passes straight across two crossroads either side of copse before heading into forest with a medium 90 degree right coming soon afterwards. Medium left/right bends follow before a short straight leading to a medium right/left combination and a straight section up to the next hairpin, another wide one which shouldn't prove testing. The altitude reaches 300m just beyond before a gentle left/right Z-bend. A gentle right as we leave the forest leads us to summit, 42km from the start and 390m above sea level according to the official Vuelta statistics (our ESA statistics reckon it's nearly 20m lower than that, but ho hum).

The first descending hairpin comes almost immediately and, other than slight caution needed to avoid gravel possibly spread over the road surface, shouldn't be hazardous unless it's raining when all hairpins become hazardous. Two sweeping left-handers carry the peloton down to the second hairpin, a left. This one is an entirely different beast altogether; tighter, steeper and right at the foot of a vertical rockface that might not only deposit gravel on the road but could also very painfully stop any rider who enters the bend too quickly for his brakes to prevent it. The third hairpin, 330m later is no challenge at all; then the road descends gently around easy bends to Montealegre, rounding a medium 180 degree bend as it reaches the village. It travels right through, becoming almost perfectly straight for 1.1km until a sweeping left leads directly into a medium 90 degree right and onto the approach towards Sámano.

Painted palm print, Cueva de la Lastrilla
(from Gobierno de Cantabria)

Sámano is another town in two halves. The north-eastern part is largely residential and almost contiguous with much larger Brazomar that will, eventually, swallow the town up; the south-western is mixed, increasingly industrial towards the edge of town. In the middle, the fields reach right to the sides of the road as though the town wears a belt - the Vuelta will approach from the west and travel through this central section before turning right and traveling onto the CA-522, leaving the town without seeing much of it. Today, the houses and industrial units are arranged along grid patterns, giving the place a modern look, but it's been inhabited for a very long time - there are palaeolithic rock paintings, especially in the Cueva de la Lastrilla, to attest to this. When the race reaches the roundabout south of the town, the peloton turn right and after a straight section pass through a 90 degree left, 180 degree right and 90 degree left as they enter Santullan. Having reached the CA-250, they turn right.

Category 3 Puerto de las Muñecas, with 290m of climbing in 4.9km, begins 54.6km from the start. A straight section of around 1.8km leads into Otanes, a village stretched out for 2km along the road. At the south-eastern end we pass by a junction with the CA-523 and head into the forest which covers the hill the race is about to climb. A medium right and left almost immediately brings us to a clearing with two buildings, then 1km later the road is crossed by a footbridge followed by a medium right, an easy left and an easy right. A medium-tight right lies 0.43km ahead, the altitude reaching 200m at the apex of the bend before dropping slightly and then climbing more steeply. Another medium 90 degree left 0.29m ahead precedes a sweeping right leading into a straight that reaches 300m at the far end before a 180 degree right. A tight left at the end of the next clearing leads into a medium left, then a tight right and the 390m summit in a clearing where two roads join from either side with 59.5km ridden so far. From this point, the road becomes the BI-3601.

Having been kept away by the violence
of ETA and other armed groups, the
Vuelta returns to the Basque Country
after 33 years.

The descent isn't particularly challenging, but as ever in forested regions bends may be slippery especially after rain - and coming off the road is always more dangerous when there are trees to hit, as was the case when Vinokourov crashed out of the Tour de France this year. There's a tight left/right Z-bend 0.3km from the summit, then an easy right followed by a tight 110 degree left and 180 degree right into Las Muñecas. A 90 degree right lies just beyond the village, leading into a tight right-hand hairpin and left-right Z-bend a short way ahead. A 90 degree right 0.3km precedes a very tight left-right Z-bend and 90 degree left immediately afterwards as the race passes back out into open countryside. A slight left and slight right take the peloton along the BI-3601 to Riojadillo before turning a sharp left at the end of the town to take the BI-2701; then right after 160m onto the BI-3261 leading into forest where it splits to become the BI-3634 and BI-3631, with the route taking the latter.

After an initial straight section through the trees, the road enters a gentle right followed by a sharper right; then reaches a section with tight ascending hairpins leading into San Esteban. The first is a tight left, not steep; the second, after 150m, tight right, not steep; third, after 290m, tight left, not steep; fourth, after 240m, medium right, not steep. A straight section leads into a gentle 90 degree left leads into a sweeping 120 degree right followed by a gentle left, then a straight up to sweeping left-right-left bends carrying the road back into forest. Once out of the trees, to continue on the same road requires turning a 180 degree left, leading to a 180 degree right and then following a wide bend into Txabarri (note the unmistakably Euskara place-names beginning to appear) before the BI-3634 joins from the right. However, if we ignore the 180 degree bend and continue straight ahead, we round a 90 degree left and head past Larrea before joining the BI-3631 a little further on. The first route is 2.4km, the second 2.13km - we suspect that, in view of the Vuelta's notoriously inaccurate road book itineraries, the second will prove to be the one taken. Just past the second junction, the road turns sharply left and then right for no apparent reason other than to add a little technicality to what would otherwise be a straight and unchallenging section.

Güeñes

A 90 degree left leads into a twisty section with a wide 180 degree right-hander leading into a medium right descending hairpin, not steep. Another tight left-right bend without any obvious reason for its existence could prove hazardous to anyone who enters it too quickly, since it would be easy to leave the road and end up among the trees on the apex. Finally, a 1.46km straight section leads along the valley floor towards Güeñes, 77.7km from the start of the race.

Güeñes forms part of a chain consisting of four towns - Zalla, Aranguren, Güeñes, Sologutxi - that have grown and become contiguous, forming an unbroken urban area almost 6km east to west but only 1.3km north to south at its deepest point. It's the largest town we've seen on this stage for some time and has a fine 16th Century church, Iglesia de Santa Maria. There is also an atmospheric ruined mansion, now in a state from which it could probably never be restored to its lost former glory. One of the oldest structures in the town is the Caserío Errekalde, a superb example of the gabled farmhouses traditional to the region in which two stone barn-like sections are joined by half-timbered living quarters occupying the first and second floors in between, leaving an open area below for the storage of hay (for images, click here). Once, it was also the site of the wonderfully-named Palacio de las Brujas - the Palace of the Witches - but it appears that this building vanished some time after 1848 when it was last recorded. The race enters town on the Enkarterri Kalea (Calle de Enkarterri), then turns left just past the town hall onto the Estarte Kalea which runs into the Lambarri Kalea and Ibarguen Kalea, with numerous speed humps along the way. Lambarri Kallea becomes the Artxube Kallea near Goikouria as a road joins from the right, then becomes the Mulikar Kalea as it approaches Sodupe. As we pass the town by, the road changes its name again and becomes the Lorgi Kalea, then the Olarbarrietta Kalea as it heads back into the countryside.

Don Diego López de Haro,
founder of Bilbao

The route follows the BI-3651 past La Quadra (La Cuadra in the road book, which uses Spanish names rather than Euskara) and over numerous speed humps as we travel by Zaramillo and Abuio, reaching the feeding station after 87.8km from the start. 1.9km after Alonsotegi, the road becomes the BI-3742 with several speed humps and level crossing as it enters Bilbao and joins the N-634, turning right at a roundabout to pass along it. A left leads onto the Gurtubai Kalea, then the Calle de Rafael Moreno and the San Mamés football ground; then a right leads onto the Calle de Felipe Serrate. At the end, the peloton turn left onto the Av. de Sabino Arana and need to be cautious of the tram lines as they approach the Monumento al Sagrado Corazón. Turning left onto the twin roundabouts and again avoiding the tram lines, the race takes the second exit to cross the wide Puente Euskalduna bridge which curves to the left as it approaches the opposite bank and joins the Euskalduna Zubia. At the next roundabout, the riders will take the first exit on the right and head onto the Morgan Kalea, progressing along the river until reaching the Paseo Campo de Volantínand up to another roundabout. Left carries them onto the Zumulakarregi Etorbidea, swooping around wide bends to a large complex junction with the Maurice Ravel Etorbidea. Right continues on the N-634, heading through a tunnel and out of the city to Galdakao 109.1km from the start of the race. The race turns left onto the Camino de Aperribai, left again onto the Camino de Ergoien and begins the Category 2 Alto El Vivero with 360m of climbing in 4.3km after 109.9km.

Palacio Chávarri, seat of the Civil Government

Having passed underneath the A-8 motorway, the road turns sharply right and then 90 degrees left into a short straight before another 90 degree left. The altitude reaches 200m just as the race enters forest, reaching a steep section as it rounds a sweeping left-hand bend before a very short slight descent into a 90 degree right bend at the end of the curve and reaches 300m shortly afterwards. It becomes steeper again as we pass Ganguren and hits the 410m summit just as the peloton reach the junction with the BI-3732 and turn left to head back into Bilbao. The descent is relatively simple, though a 90 degree right 0.7km after the junction could prove hazardous especially during or after rain. The long straight to follow, down to Aranoltzo San Antolin, is likely to encourage high speeds. After passing across a fly-over over the BI-631, the route turns left onto the BI-3741and then right onto the BI-631 leading into Bilbao and towards the Zumulakarregi Etorbidea and into the heart of the city. The second intermediate sprint takes place along the Alameda Recalde before the peloton turn right at the Plaza de Federico Moyua and onto the Gran Vía Don Diego López de Haro, at the end arriving once more at the Sagrado Corazón. They once again cross the Puente Euskalduna, embarking on a second circuit up and over Alto El Vivero, following the same route. Once back in the city, the race crosses the Puente de los Príncipes de España to pass again along the Alameda Recalde for 0.35km, passing by the stupendously good modernist Basque Health Department Offices, before turning right again at the Plaza Don Federico Moyua onto the Gran Vía Don Diego López de Haro for a final 0.65 straight sprint to the finish line after 158.5km.

Estación Bilbao-Concordia

As we said earlier, Bilbao is not just the finest city on Euskadi - it's one of the finest in Europe and the world. There is evidence of human inhabitation of the locale dating back to around 4000 BCE, but the city dates only from the beginning of the 14th Century; having been established by Diego López V of Haro on the 15th of June 1300. López, afforded certain legal powers in his status as Lord of Biscay, guaranteed his new city would enjoy a successful beginning by granting it certain rights and advantageous trading conditions; ensuring that his city grew rapidly in both size and importance. Two centuries later, in 1511, Bilbao was granted jurisdiction over the estuary that now shares its name, an excellent natural harbour that it began to develop and soon made one of the most important - and profitable - ports in Spain. By 1530, it was home to 65,000 people and less than a hundred years it became the regional capital. However, the following centuries saw the population fall dramatically; largely as a result of the four plague outbreaks between 1500 and 1600.

Torre Iberdrola. Bilbao does not rely on past
glories and is ready to meet an even more
glorious future

The city weathered the economic chaos that affected virtually everywhere else in the country during the 17th Century due to the presence of iron ore deposits in the region and its well-established trading links with the Netherlands and Britain. It continued to grow during the 18th and 19th Centuries, soon filling the geographical space between the higher land to the south-west and north-east and beginning to spread along the valleys occupied by the nearby villages it has now swallowed up. It survived no less than three sieges during the Carlist Wars and increased its population by 69,000 people during the last two decades of that century. As might be expected from the Marxist-Leninist leanings of ETA and other separatist groups, the region supported the left during the Civil War and suffered heavy bombing at the hands of both the Nationalists and their German Nazi supporters. It was besieged in 1937 and all bridges across the estuary were destroyed. The city's industries began to be developed once again after Falange had taken power, especially the iron ore mines which, as tends to be the case under fascist regimes, saw the working classes suffer greatly in the poorly-built and disease-ridden slums that grew up to house them - another powerful contributing factor in the decision of some to take up arms, plant bombs and commit bloody acts of violence.

We couldn't really have done this article without including a picture of one of the teams most loved by
fans and respected by opponents in the history of cycling, could we? Euskaltel-Euskadi have for many
years been home to some of the world's most talented riders. The sport would be far poorer without
the familiar orange phalanx in the peloton.

Following the fall of Falange, democratic elections were once again held in Spain and the Basques gave their support to left-wing nationalists. The Basque Country came into being as an autonomous region, with far-reaching rights to self-determination, in 1979 - just prior to industrial crisis caused by a combination of worldwide economic downturn, the gradual shift of European cities from industrial to service economies and ETA's decision to attack industrial targets. Yet Bilbao fared relatively well as the 1980s progressed, always managing to remain a few steps ahead of debilitating recession and by 1990 was well on its way to emerging as the modern and wealthy service city that it is today. This transition was helped enormously by the construction of the Guggenheim Museum, one of the most famous and iconic buildings in the world, in 1997 - this kick-started the so-called Guggenheim Effect in which cities lucky enough to have such a museum experience rapid gentrification and a sudden, pronounced up-turn in tourism. Today, the museum is visited by around one million people each year - many of them guests in the city, injecting their cash into the local economy. Today, with its healthy economy and multicultural population standing at around 350,000, Bilbao - and, with it, Euskadi - looks set to enjoy far greater growth during the coming decades than most other cities on the Iberian Peninsula. It may well be the case that the inhabitants of the Basque regions over the border in France look upon this success and begin to press their own government for the right to join them, leading to the eventual reappearance of Euskal Herria as a political and geographic entity.

The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao - one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in the world (CC3.0)

Predictions: This is it now - just today and tomorrow for the top riders to establish domination over the race. If they fail, it's going to be a vicious dogfight all the way through Madrid to the last lap about the Plaza de Cibeles, and after all this way nobody wants that. Sky have already said that they plan to attack all the way through the Basque Country, especially now that they find themselves with a potential favourite to win the General Classification - it's not who they thought it'd be, but a Froome's as good as a Wiggins (and there's till an outside change Wiggo could win, but he'd have to ride like the devil to pull that one off).

However, since this is the first time the Basque people's favourite sporting event has been seen on their soil for so long, it would seem highly likely that we can expect Euskaltel-Euskadi to pull out all the stops and go for a stage win. Fair play to them - they have our best wishes, even if it means the British-based team loses.

Weather: Warmer than it has been: 27C at the start line, then increasing gradually to a high of around 34C at Bilbao - more than enough to make extreme physical effort very uncomfortable indeed. A moderate headwind up to the 60km mark will be very unwelcome, especially over those first four climbs. The direction will remain the same but they'll become less strong towards the halfway point, then become gentle crosswinds for the remainder of the parcours. Once again, it's expected to be sunny with no rain over the entire route.

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Vuelta a España - Stage 19 Preview

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The Basque flag

It's been more than three decades, but finally the Vuelta returns to the Basque Country - home of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team which is partially sponsored by the autonomous Basque government and of Movistar. Love of cycling is in the blood of the Basques: Iban Mayo, Haimar Zubeldia, David Etxebarria and the great Miguel Indurain are all from Euskadi, the name of the country in the unique Basque language.

The beautiful landscape of Euskadi

Basque nationalism has a long history, having emerged as a political movement during the 19th Century. However, the Spanish government chose to ignore the region's calls for self-determination. The combination of political disenfranchisement and leftist opposition to Franco's fascist regime (which, it should be remembered, used techniques no better than those used by terrorist groups, including torture and murder of unarmed civilians) led quickly to the formation of groups willing to use violence in an effort to get their message across. The most infamous of those groups is, of course, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, "Basque Homeland and Freedom." Formed in 1959 and deemed an illegal terrorist organisation by the European Union and United States, ETA's gudariak (Basque word for "warriors") waged a fierce war against the state and left a trail of death and destruction in their wake - at least 820 people, including 340 civilians (some of them children) have been killed by the group since it began growing strong towards the end of the 1960s. ETA - along with other groups such as Iparretarrak ("The Northerners"), Komando Autonomo Antikapitalistak ("Autonomous Anti-capitalist Commandos") and Kale Borroka ("Street Fighting," a loosely-organised group of leftist activists) - began to step up its activities in the late 1970s, with a particularly bloody year in 1980 when it was responsible for 92 killings, making it simply too dangerous to hold cycling events in the region.

Bilbao - largest city in Euskadi and one of Europe's finest

This was shown to be the case in 1992, when a car bomb expolded in an underground car park the day before the Tour de France was due to arrive, causing many of the riders to consider leaving the race (they were subsequently persuaded to continue). Then, in 2007, the Tour was directly attacked - two small bombs using ammonal, which ETA had the ability to manufacture and had used on numerous occasions, were detonated at the side of the road shortly after the Caravan had passed. Though the blasts were small and nobody was injured, investigation showed that the bombs had used 0.5-1kg of the explosive and had been disguised as discarded plastic food boxes, presumably with the intention of maiming spectators - the first ETA attack since a ceasefire declared in March of the previous year, not the first time the group had broken a declaration of peace. A third ceasefire was announced in September 2010, with the organisation stating that it intended to use peaceful, democratic means in its ongoing fight to achieve total independence from the Spanish government and, ideally, a restoration of Euskal Herria, the Greater Basque Country which includes territory in France. In January 2011, the ceasefire was declared permanent and, so far, it appears that ETA really have turned their backs on violence - thus, Unipublic have decided that the situation permits the Vuelta to return to the beautiful region. The Basque people will doubtless be overjoyed to see one of the greatest events in their most beloved sport once again take place in their nation. Expect a party!

Panoramic view of Santona and the National Park (CC2.5)

The stage begins with the usual neutral zone starting on the Calle Castrejón El Arenai in Noja, right next to the beach and at almost the same place Stage 18 drew to an end, and heads east for 60m to a roundabout and a right turn onto the Av. de los Ris which the peloton will follow for 1.24km before turning left onto the Av. de Santander. This will lead east to the Plaza Noja, with 90 degree left and right turns to follow for the Av. de Cantabria, joining with the Av. de Zent Mar at a roundabout. As the road curves and comes to the beach, it becomes the Paseo Trengandín leading out of town and becoming the CA-147. Having reached Helgueras, the road becomes known as the Paseo de Brusco for 0.49km section up to a roundabout where the route turns right onto what the race itinerary calls the Calle de las Igueras - our maps say it's the Calle de las Helgueras which, in view of the village's name, is more likely. Having followed this road for around 2km, the race reaches a junction with the CA-141 and turns left, reaching the end of the neutral zone 0.73km along the road at Copillo. Cerecedas is the first town, contiguous with Argoños where the peloton turn left at a roundabout to keep going along the CA-141, turning right at the next roundabout to follow the road over a bridge and past Berria before passing along a causeway through marshland (a National Park) into Santoña.

Fuerte de San Martin

Archaeology has shown that Santoña has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times with many discoveries dating from that period being found in the town and nearby, but it was under the Romans that it first became an important town - artifacts left by them, including a valuable hoard of coins unearthed at the Iglesia de Santa María de Puerto, suggest that it was a major settlement by the 1st Century. In common with most European towns, it declined following the demise of the Empire and by the Middle Ages was a small community centred on a monastery; the abbot - one Paterno - began a program very unusual for the day to reforest the area in 1038. From the 15th Century, the town began to grow very wealthy due to the development of a ship building industry. A boom period came in the early part of the 18th Century when the shipyards were given Royal status and a contract to build fifteen ships for the Spanish Navy. Ships are no longer built here, but the port and docks remain busy due to the extremely productive fishing fleet and canning plants. Santoña has much to offer the visitor, those who can tolerate the smell of the fish canneries, at any rate - including the church mentioned above, said to have been established by St. James in 37 CE but in fact of 13th Century construction, once part of the monastery; the 18th Century Palacio de Chiloeches which later served as a military hospital and a prison, nowadays back in private ownership but sadly in a poor state and far removed from its former grandeur; three forts (Fuerte de San Carlos, Fuerte de San Martin and Fuerte de Napoleón) and a monument to Luis Carrero Blanco - victim of an ETA assassination in 1973 and, as president of the ruling Falange and most likely figure to continue the fascist Franco regime following Franco's death, arguably no great loss to the world.

Palacio de Condestables

The Vuelta enters the town along the Calle de la Alameda, turning right at a roundabout topped with a sculpture of a human figure and moving onto the Calle de las Manzanedo and coming to another roundabout after 158m. Turning right again, the race enters the Calle de Baldomero Villegas and turns a 90 degree right onto the Calle de Marismas de Bengoa; then 90 degrees right again for the Carretera de Cicero - also known as the CA-241 - making its way via a series of bridges and causeways across the wide marshes and, 10.8km from the start of the race, dry land at a junction with the N-634. The parcours turns left and heads into Cicero, then left past a roundabout towards Treto and across a wide bridge for Colindres - this route offers excellent views of the new suspension bridge just to the south. The race moves into town along the Calle de la Mar, contiguous with the Calles de Sainz Ezquerra, de la Magdalena and Ramón Pelayo. The latter takes the race to a pair of roundabouts on the edge of town - the left route about the first is the better option as it will line up the riders for an easy route about the second and the correct exit along the N-634. Colindres is a town split into two: Colindres de arriba is the older part with more to interest the tourist and Colindres de abajo is the modern part, where many of the residents work.

Casa de Musica

The majority of people would list Palacio del Condestable as the finest building in Colindres, despite having lain in ruins ever since an attack by French pirates in 1639; but for us the modernist Casa de Musica is by far the better structure.

Laredo is reached 15.7km from the start and hosts the first of the stage's two intermediate sprints beginning on the Calle del Duque de la Ahumada as it heads into the Plaza Capuchinos followed by the Plaza de la Constitución which is contiguous with the Calles de Revellón and del Emperador. At the end, the road suddenly takes a 180 degree bend and becomes the Calle de las Escalerillas and taking in a sweeping left before a tight hairpin. Gentle right and left bends lead south-west to a junction with the A-8 motorway with the race turning right to continue on the N-634 and along a straight 1.24km stretch into Tarrueza. More unchallenging bends lead to Liendo and Iseca Vieja before the race reaches a pair of very wide 180 degree bends, one left and one right to form a giant S - while the bends aren't a problem, the road does climb quite steeply here and rises almost 60m in 0.64km: a gradient of just over 10%. It continues to rise - more gently now - into the forest and heading south-east to the A-8, then swooping north-east before an easy 90 degree right carries the peloton into a descent and across a fly-over. Having passed by a junction on the left, the road enters a twisty section featuring a medium 90 degree right, medium 90 degree left, gentle right before a 130m straight, then a tight 90 degree left, tight 110 degree right and and a final medium 90 degree left before leaving the forest behind. After following the river for a short way it turns an easy 90 degree left onto a high, slightly curving bridge and turns 90 degrees right onto the CA-151 to head through more forest to Rioseco 33km from the start.

Iglesia de San Vicente, Rioseco (from Sobre Cantabria)

This Rioseco, rather confusingly one of three villages in Cantabria and seven throughout Spain to bear the name, is famous for the 16th Century Iglesia de San Vicente de la Maza, considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in the province. Surrounded on all sides by trees, only the tower and upper part of the roof can be seen from a distance but it's well worth a closer look. Remaining ont he same road, the peloton will pass by the church before reaching Guriezo where they'll turn left at the roundabout for the CA-520. The first climb - Category 3 Puerto de la Granja with 370m of climbing in 7km - begins at this point.

A tight 90 degree right and medium-tight left at Francos lead into a short descent along the straight road to Balbacienta, the road sweeping right to avoid the village as the climb really begins. A 90 degree left lies just beyond the last house on the left, followed by an equally technical right 160m ahead. The first hairpin, a left, comes three-quarters of a kilometre later. A right comes 210m after that, then a left 170m after that and a final right 110m later. All of them are wide and not especially steep, making it a relatively unchallenging section. An easy left/right Z-bend follows, then the race passes straight across two crossroads either side of copse before heading into forest with a medium 90 degree right coming soon afterwards. Medium left/right bends follow before a short straight leading to a medium right/left combination and a straight section up to the next hairpin, another wide one which shouldn't prove testing. The altitude reaches 300m just beyond before a gentle left/right Z-bend. A gentle right as we leave the forest leads us to summit, 42km from the start and 390m above sea level according to the official Vuelta statistics (our ESA statistics reckon it's nearly 20m lower than that, but ho hum).

The first descending hairpin comes almost immediately and, other than slight caution needed to avoid gravel possibly spread over the road surface, shouldn't be hazardous unless it's raining when all hairpins become hazardous. Two sweeping left-handers carry the peloton down to the second hairpin, a left. This one is an entirely different beast altogether; tighter, steeper and right at the foot of a vertical rockface that might not only deposit gravel on the road but could also very painfully stop any rider who enters the bend too quickly for his brakes to prevent it. The third hairpin, 330m later is no challenge at all; then the road descends gently around easy bends to Montealegre, rounding a medium 180 degree bend as it reaches the village. It travels right through, becoming almost perfectly straight for 1.1km until a sweeping left leads directly into a medium 90 degree right and onto the approach towards Sámano.

Painted palm print, Cueva de la Lastrilla
(from Gobierno de Cantabria)

Sámano is another town in two halves. The north-eastern part is largely residential and almost contiguous with much larger Brazomar that will, eventually, swallow the town up; the south-western is mixed, increasingly industrial towards the edge of town. In the middle, the fields reach right to the sides of the road as though the town wears a belt - the Vuelta will approach from the west and travel through this central section before turning right and traveling onto the CA-522, leaving the town without seeing much of it. Today, the houses and industrial units are arranged along grid patterns, giving the place a modern look, but it's been inhabited for a very long time - there are palaeolithic rock paintings, especially in the Cueva de la Lastrilla, to attest to this. When the race reaches the roundabout south of the town, the peloton turn right and after a straight section pass through a 90 degree left, 180 degree right and 90 degree left as they enter Santullan. Having reached the CA-250, they turn right.

Category 3 Puerto de las Muñecas, with 290m of climbing in 4.9km, begins 54.6km from the start. A straight section of around 1.8km leads into Otanes, a village stretched out for 2km along the road. At the south-eastern end we pass by a junction with the CA-523 and head into the forest which covers the hill the race is about to climb. A medium right and left almost immediately brings us to a clearing with two buildings, then 1km later the road is crossed by a footbridge followed by a medium right, an easy left and an easy right. A medium-tight right lies 0.43km ahead, the altitude reaching 200m at the apex of the bend before dropping slightly and then climbing more steeply. Another medium 90 degree left 0.29m ahead precedes a sweeping right leading into a straight that reaches 300m at the far end before a 180 degree right. A tight left at the end of the next clearing leads into a medium left, then a tight right and the 390m summit in a clearing where two roads join from either side with 59.5km ridden so far. From this point, the road becomes the BI-3601.

Having been kept away by the violence
of ETA and other armed groups, the
Vuelta returns to the Basque Country
after 33 years.

The descent isn't particularly challenging, but as ever in forested regions bends may be slippery especially after rain - and coming off the road is always more dangerous when there are trees to hit, as was the case when Vinokourov crashed out of the Tour de France this year. There's a tight left/right Z-bend 0.3km from the summit, then an easy right followed by a tight 110 degree left and 180 degree right into Las Muñecas. A 90 degree right lies just beyond the village, leading into a tight right-hand hairpin and left-right Z-bend a short way ahead. A 90 degree right 0.3km precedes a very tight left-right Z-bend and 90 degree left immediately afterwards as the race passes back out into open countryside. A slight left and slight right take the peloton along the BI-3601 to Riojadillo before turning a sharp left at the end of the town to take the BI-2701; then right after 160m onto the BI-3261 leading into forest where it splits to become the BI-3634 and BI-3631, with the route taking the latter.

After an initial straight section through the trees, the road enters a gentle right followed by a sharper right; then reaches a section with tight ascending hairpins leading into San Esteban. The first is a tight left, not steep; the second, after 150m, tight right, not steep; third, after 290m, tight left, not steep; fourth, after 240m, medium right, not steep. A straight section leads into a gentle 90 degree left leads into a sweeping 120 degree right followed by a gentle left, then a straight up to sweeping left-right-left bends carrying the road back into forest. Once out of the trees, to continue on the same road requires turning a 180 degree left, leading to a 180 degree right and then following a wide bend into Txabarri (note the unmistakably Euskara place-names beginning to appear) before the BI-3634 joins from the right. However, if we ignore the 180 degree bend and continue straight ahead, we round a 90 degree left and head past Larrea before joining the BI-3631 a little further on. The first route is 2.4km, the second 2.13km - we suspect that, in view of the Vuelta's notoriously inaccurate road book itineraries, the second will prove to be the one taken. Just past the second junction, the road turns sharply left and then right for no apparent reason other than to add a little technicality to what would otherwise be a straight and unchallenging section.

Güeñes

A 90 degree left leads into a twisty section with a wide 180 degree right-hander leading into a medium right descending hairpin, not steep. Another tight left-right bend without any obvious reason for its existence could prove hazardous to anyone who enters it too quickly, since it would be easy to leave the road and end up among the trees on the apex. Finally, a 1.46km straight section leads along the valley floor towards Güeñes, 77.7km from the start of the race.

Güeñes forms part of a chain consisting of four towns - Zalla, Aranguren, Güeñes, Sologutxi - that have grown and become contiguous, forming an unbroken urban area almost 6km east to west but only 1.3km north to south at its deepest point. It's the largest town we've seen on this stage for some time and has a fine 16th Century church, Iglesia de Santa Maria. There is also an atmospheric ruined mansion, now in a state from which it could probably never be restored to its lost former glory. One of the oldest structures in the town is the Caserío Errekalde, a superb example of the gabled farmhouses traditional to the region in which two stone barn-like sections are joined by half-timbered living quarters occupying the first and second floors in between, leaving an open area below for the storage of hay (for images, click here). Once, it was also the site of the wonderfully-named Palacio de las Brujas - the Palace of the Witches - but it appears that this building vanished some time after 1848 when it was last recorded. The race enters town on the Enkarterri Kalea (Calle de Enkarterri), then turns left just past the town hall onto the Estarte Kalea which runs into the Lambarri Kalea and Ibarguen Kalea, with numerous speed humps along the way. Lambarri Kallea becomes the Artxube Kallea near Goikouria as a road joins from the right, then becomes the Mulikar Kalea as it approaches Sodupe. As we pass the town by, the road changes its name again and becomes the Lorgi Kalea, then the Olarbarrietta Kalea as it heads back into the countryside.

Don Diego López de Haro,
founder of Bilbao

The route follows the BI-3651 past La Quadra (La Cuadra in the road book, which uses Spanish names rather than Euskara) and over numerous speed humps as we travel by Zaramillo and Abuio, reaching the feeding station after 87.8km from the start. 1.9km after Alonsotegi, the road becomes the BI-3742 with several speed humps and level crossing as it enters Bilbao and joins the N-634, turning right at a roundabout to pass along it. A left leads onto the Gurtubai Kalea, then the Calle de Rafael Moreno and the San Mamés football ground; then a right leads onto the Calle de Felipe Serrate. At the end, the peloton turn left onto the Av. de Sabino Arana and need to be cautious of the tram lines as they approach the Monumento al Sagrado Corazón. Turning left onto the twin roundabouts and again avoiding the tram lines, the race takes the second exit to cross the wide Puente Euskalduna bridge which curves to the left as it approaches the opposite bank and joins the Euskalduna Zubia. At the next roundabout, the riders will take the first exit on the right and head onto the Morgan Kalea, progressing along the river until reaching the Paseo Campo de Volantínand up to another roundabout. Left carries them onto the Zumulakarregi Etorbidea, swooping around wide bends to a large complex junction with the Maurice Ravel Etorbidea. Right continues on the N-634, heading through a tunnel and out of the city to Galdakao 109.1km from the start of the race. The race turns left onto the Camino de Aperribai, left again onto the Camino de Ergoien and begins the Category 2 Alto El Vivero with 360m of climbing in 4.3km after 109.9km.

Palacio Chávarri, seat of the Civil Government

Having passed underneath the A-8 motorway, the road turns sharply right and then 90 degrees left into a short straight before another 90 degree left. The altitude reaches 200m just as the race enters forest, reaching a steep section as it rounds a sweeping left-hand bend before a very short slight descent into a 90 degree right bend at the end of the curve and reaches 300m shortly afterwards. It becomes steeper again as we pass Ganguren and hits the 410m summit just as the peloton reach the junction with the BI-3732 and turn left to head back into Bilbao. The descent is relatively simple, though a 90 degree right 0.7km after the junction could prove hazardous especially during or after rain. The long straight to follow, down to Aranoltzo San Antolin, is likely to encourage high speeds. After passing across a fly-over over the BI-631, the route turns left onto the BI-3741and then right onto the BI-631 leading into Bilbao and towards the Zumulakarregi Etorbidea and into the heart of the city. The second intermediate sprint takes place along the Alameda Recalde before the peloton turn right at the Plaza de Federico Moyua and onto the Gran Vía Don Diego López de Haro, at the end arriving once more at the Sagrado Corazón. They once again cross the Puente Euskalduna, embarking on a second circuit up and over Alto El Vivero, following the same route. Once back in the city, the race crosses the Puente de los Príncipes de España to pass again along the Alameda Recalde for 0.35km, passing by the stupendously good modernist Basque Health Department Offices, before turning right again at the Plaza Don Federico Moyua onto the Gran Vía Don Diego López de Haro for a final 0.65 straight sprint to the finish line after 158.5km.

Estación Bilbao-Concordia

As we said earlier, Bilbao is not just the finest city on Euskadi - it's one of the finest in Europe and the world. There is evidence of human inhabitation of the locale dating back to around 4000 BCE, but the city dates only from the beginning of the 14th Century; having been established by Diego López V of Haro on the 15th of June 1300. López, afforded certain legal powers in his status as Lord of Biscay, guaranteed his new city would enjoy a successful beginning by granting it certain rights and advantageous trading conditions; ensuring that his city grew rapidly in both size and importance. Two centuries later, in 1511, Bilbao was granted jurisdiction over the estuary that now shares its name, an excellent natural harbour that it began to develop and soon made one of the most important - and profitable - ports in Spain. By 1530, it was home to 65,000 people and less than a hundred years it became the regional capital. However, the following centuries saw the population fall dramatically; largely as a result of the four plague outbreaks between 1500 and 1600.

Torre Iberdrola. Bilbao does not rely on past
glories and is ready to meet an even more
glorious future

The city weathered the economic chaos that affected virtually everywhere else in the country during the 17th Century due to the presence of iron ore deposits in the region and its well-established trading links with the Netherlands and Britain. It continued to grow during the 18th and 19th Centuries, soon filling the geographical space between the higher land to the south-west and north-east and beginning to spread along the valleys occupied by the nearby villages it has now swallowed up. It survived no less than three sieges during the Carlist Wars and increased its population by 69,000 people during the last two decades of that century. As might be expected from the Marxist-Leninist leanings of ETA and other separatist groups, the region supported the left during the Civil War and suffered heavy bombing at the hands of both the Nationalists and their German Nazi supporters. It was besieged in 1937 and all bridges across the estuary were destroyed. The city's industries began to be developed once again after Falange had taken power, especially the iron ore mines which, as tends to be the case under fascist regimes, saw the working classes suffer greatly in the poorly-built and disease-ridden slums that grew up to house them - another powerful contributing factor in the decision of some to take up arms, plant bombs and commit bloody acts of violence.

We couldn't really have done this article without including a picture of one of the teams most loved by
fans and respected by opponents in the history of cycling, could we? Euskaltel-Euskadi have for many
years been home to some of the world's most talented riders. The sport would be far poorer without
the familiar orange phalanx in the peloton.

Following the fall of Falange, democratic elections were once again held in Spain and the Basques gave their support to left-wing nationalists. The Basque Country came into being as an autonomous region, with far-reaching rights to self-determination, in 1979 - just prior to industrial crisis caused by a combination of worldwide economic downturn, the gradual shift of European cities from industrial to service economies and ETA's decision to attack industrial targets. Yet Bilbao fared relatively well as the 1980s progressed, always managing to remain a few steps ahead of debilitating recession and by 1990 was well on its way to emerging as the modern and wealthy service city that it is today. This transition was helped enormously by the construction of the Guggenheim Museum, one of the most famous and iconic buildings in the world, in 1997 - this kick-started the so-called Guggenheim Effect in which cities lucky enough to have such a museum experience rapid gentrification and a sudden, pronounced up-turn in tourism. Today, the museum is visited by around one million people each year - many of them guests in the city, injecting their cash into the local economy. Today, with its healthy economy and multicultural population standing at around 350,000, Bilbao - and, with it, Euskadi - looks set to enjoy far greater growth during the coming decades than most other cities on the Iberian Peninsula. It may well be the case that the inhabitants of the Basque regions over the border in France look upon this success and begin to press their own government for the right to join them, leading to the eventual reappearance of Euskal Herria as a political and geographic entity.

The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao - one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in the world (CC3.0)

Predictions: This is it now - just today and tomorrow for the top riders to establish domination over the race. If they fail, it's going to be a vicious dogfight all the way through Madrid to the last lap about the Plaza de Cibeles, and after all this way nobody wants that. Sky have already said that they plan to attack all the way through the Basque Country, especially now that they find themselves with a potential favourite to win the General Classification - it's not who they thought it'd be, but a Froome's as good as a Wiggins (and there's till an outside change Wiggo could win, but he'd have to ride like the devil to pull that one off).

However, since this is the first time the Basque people's favourite sporting event has been seen on their soil for so long, it would seem highly likely that we can expect Euskaltel-Euskadi to pull out all the stops and go for a stage win. Fair play to them - they have our best wishes, even if it means the British-based team loses.

Weather: Warmer than it has been: 27C at the start line, then increasing gradually to a high of around 34C at Bilbao - more than enough to make extreme physical effort very uncomfortable indeed. A moderate headwind up to the 60km mark will be very unwelcome, especially over those first four climbs. The direction will remain the same but they'll become less strong towards the halfway point, then become gentle crosswinds for the remainder of the parcours. Once again, it's expected to be sunny with no rain over the entire route.

More Stage Previews: click here

Vuelta a España - Stage 9 Preview

Stage Map: click here
Stage Profile: click here
More Stage Previews: click here

Stage 9, like Stage 8, heads for the hills - but it's a very different sort of stage to yesterday's. Rather than testing the riders' strength with several medium-sized climbs, it starts off with a smallish Category 3 and then wears them down with a series of uncategorised little ascents before finishing off with a great big grind up to the Sierra de Béjar La Covatilla ski resort 1970m above sea level. However, the majority of the riding takes place upon the poker-straight N-110, meaning that despite its mountainous classification this is a stage in which sprinters could have as much to play for as the climbers, and the day's winner could very well be a non-General Classification contender who feels his legs are up to the task and mounts a successful breakaway attempt.

Villacastin's coat of arms, carved in 1627.

Villacastin is acting as a start town for the very first time in the Vuelta's history today. The city's own history stretches back to the dawn of human inhabitation of Spain, with a wide range of artifacts manufactured or left by early man having been discovered by palaeontologists in the area. However, its Roman and Dark Age past is little known - in fact, other than the typically Roman road found nearby, there is precious little trace of Roman presence at all, putting paid to the once popular theory that the name Villacastin was of Roman origin. There is little trace of the Visigoths who took over where the Romans left off, too, though road builders in 2001 discovered buried ruins which were subsequently estimated by archaeologists to have been inhabited from the Mesolithic era through to the Visigothic, a period roughly equalling at least five thousand years - approximately four times longer than the period of time that has passed between the demise of the Visigoths and the present. Later - rather fanciful - theories claimed that the name must mean "the town of castles" and refer to the existing castle and a mysterious second one, somehow vanished without trace; this theory being supported by those who believed it by the presence of two castles on the city's coat of arms. However, no archaeological trace nor historical record of the second castle has ever been found, so that theory seems no more likely to be correct - the twin castles on the coat of arms are believed to represent the close ties between Villacastin and Castile.

Modern interpretations of the name explain "castin" as being an archaic, formal deriviative of the Latin castrum, which has given rise to castillo, chateau and castle, but meaning "fortified" rather than a fortified building. Villa, meaning town, makes it the Fortified Town - not an especially helpful name in Spain where in some regions it seems that virtually every community of any size was fortified at some point, but a descriptive one nevertheless for Villacastin did indeed have fortifications: some rather superb examples of them, in fact, as the location was of great strategic importance among the defence network surrounding Tulaytula, one of the most most important cities in Moorish Iberia and now known as Toledo. The first historical evidence of Villacastin as a city comes from a document dated to 1096, a point at which the Christians were beginning to rise up against Muslim rule (and, unfortunately, show far less tolerance of religious and cultural differences than the Moors had) and the region became a sort of no-man's-land between the opposing groups.

Inglesia de San Sebastian.

Following the Reconquest, the Christians set about excising all trace of Islam from the city by converting mosques into churches and erecting stone crosses at fourteen sites on the streets. A few crosses still remain, the most famous being the Cruz de Santiago on the city's southern perimeter along the road to Madrid. Whilst we may express horror at the Christian intolerance and cruelty towards the Moors once they'd seized power, we can still appreciate their contributions to culture and especially to architecture. Unlike many communities, Villacastin continued to grow both geographically and economically under their rule - observing their neighbours' success - in 1450 the elders of the village of Navalpino, some 5km away, elected to up sticks and move their entire population to the city, abandoning their village entirely. Today, no trace other than the ruined stump of the church remains. People from other villages similarly relocated en masse and by the turn of the 16th Century, it was home to more than 5000 people, attracting craftsmen from as far as Germany to work on its buildings, the Iglesia de San Sebastián being among those started in that century. Today, it's one of the most impressive churches anywhere in the country even though it only ever got one of the two towers originally planned. The 20m tall altarpiece is world famous.

All that remains of Navalpino.

Plague dramatically reduced the population in 1599, but having become a centre of the manufacture of fine cloth Villacastin attracted workers from elsewhere and recovered far more quickly than many other places. The cloth trade continued to develop, making the city even richer. 28 years later, when the city became part of the province of Segovia, a survey was taken and reveals it to have had  a hospital, two monasteries, several great houses belonging to various noble families and a wide assortment of buildings involved with the production, storage and trade of woolen cloth. Much of the industrial architecture was subsequently destroyed by Anglo-Portuguese forces during the War of Succession, the first in a series of factors that saw Villacastin enter a period of recession during which it became largely depopulated and it had been largely forgotten by the rest of the world when it briefly played host to Napoleon, who was trapped here with 60,000 troops by heavy snow in December 1809. The construction of the Carretera Nacional Villacastín-Vigo in 1860 led to some signs of an upturn, but the city - now a small town - has never regained the power and wealth it once held.

The stage starts at Villacastin's football club, heading north east on the Carretera de Avila for a quick procession though the town. A tight left and right turn lead into the Calle de Correos, then the N-110 turns left at one roundabout and passes straight over the next to leave the town behind. A flyover carries the road above the AP-6 motorway and straight on to the first of the day's obvious hazards, a second large roundabout between the entrance to an industrial estate and the toll gates onto the motorway network. No matter which way the riders decide to go round, they'll be right in the middle of the areas most likely to contain lethally slippery diesel spills, all but invisible on the road surface. Having crossed another flyover carrying it over the AP-51, the road sweeps to the south-west among the rocky fields, climbing slightly towards the end of the neutral zone 5.2km from the start and Santa María del Cubillo 2.8km further on.

Santa Maria has a very attractive 16th Century parish church with an ornate turreted roof at one end and a belfry at the other with a red pan-tiled roof on the lower section in between. The parcours turns left off the N-110 and onto the AV-501 leading to a hairpin bend - both the corner and the bend may have diesel spills due to the large open-cast mine a short way on directly to the left of the road - and begins the first climb of the day, Category 3 Puerto de la Cruz de Hierro. The 1470m summit is reached after 8.6km from the start, shortly after passing a chain of wind turbines which either ruin or add to the landscape depending upon personal point of view. The descent isn't steep, but long straight sections will encourage high speed before the sharp right turn onto the AV-500 which runs straight for 14.6km. However, it's not boring - after a short while, the road crosses a bridge almost 0.5km long over the Embalse de Serones, a large artificial lake set among the rolling hills, some with lines of turbines marching over them. Egrets and black storks are common sights around the lake, those who are lucky may even see otters. On a fine day, this section of the stage could be one of the most pleasant anyone could wish for; on a rainy or - worse - windy day, it could be hellish.

Urraca-Miguel passes by on the right, signalling that there are just a few more kilometres to Bernuy-Salinero which the road just clips to the north. The village has an interesting little church and, immediately to the west of it, what appears from aerial photography to be possible modern structures built among the walls of a far larger, older, ruined building. Unfortunately, there seems to be no information on the site available online and so the only way to be certain would be to go and have a look - should they prove to be something else, the journey would not be wasted since it's the kind of village that has many hidden jewels. The sprawling industrial areas east of Avila soon become visible, the peloton reaching the city 33km from the start.

Basilica de San Vincente, source of a good percentage of
medieval antisemitism.

The race reaches a roundabout and turns right onto the Calle de Theresa de Calcutta and passes over two roundabouts to a third where they turn left, once again joining the N-110 which is called the Carretera de Villacastín-Vigo along this section. It crosses several roundabouts and passes under a fly-over before joining the Paseo de Don Carmelo Delgado, passing south of the large Parque de San Antonio and joining the A. de Madrid as it approaches the Basilica de San Vincente. Having been begun in the 12th Century, this vast church took almost three centuries to be completed and is listed as one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in the world. It was built as a place of worship centred on the Cenotaph of Saints Vicente, Sabina and Cristeta who refused to sign a document stating that they would make sacrifices to the Roman gods during the 4th Century, only to be betrayed by that constant bogeyman of Dark and Middle Age myth, a Jew. They were put to death in a characteristically gristly manner, having their heads crushed - as is displayed with gory detail in wooden carvings on display in the church. As they died, angels carried their souls to Heaven while a large snake emerged from their bodies and wrapped itself about the neck of the Jew, who thereupon "saw the error of his ways" and converted to Christianity; later building the basilica in order to repent for his betrayal.

Avila's complete medieval wall.

Avila is particularly notable as it has retained its entire 11th Century defensive wall, enclosing more than 30 acres and believed to be the longest complete medieval defensive wall in Europe. It has a total perimetre of a little over 2.5km, is 12m tall and has no less than 88 towers. The entire wall is illuminated, making it the largest illuminated structure in the world. The cathedral appears more solid that most, the reason being that it was designed to act as both a place of worship and, should the need arise, a defensible fortress; rather than simply because it shared the only architectural techniques available at the time with castles. The apse is in fact one of the city wall's turrets. Believed to be the first Gothic church in the country, it is not known when construction began; though most historians choose either the 11th Century under Alvar Garcia and Alfonso VI of Castile or the 12th under Fruchel and Raymond of Burgundy.

The cottage seen here is typical of the style in Aldealabad,
but atypical of technique - most of the buildings use dry-
wall construction techniques rather than mortar.

The peloton continues along the Av. de Madrid, negotiating numerous roundabouts and speed humps until a right and left lead past the Calle de Don Suero Aguila and along the N-403 leading out of the city, passing over a roundabout in the dry and boulder-strewn countryside around the city to join then N-110A, then merging with the N-110 and reaching Bascoarrabal 41.5km from the start. The road is straight, but the surrounding landscape is fortunately irrigated, thus making it a far more pleasant stretch than it would be were it as dry and dusty as that surrounding Avila. En route, the peloton passes Aldealabad del Mirón; an interesting village partly for the very obviously Arabic first part of its name and partly because, as a small rural community that has changed little since it was established, it allows a glimpse of what life must have been like for the majority of Spaniards until the middle of the last century. Aldealabad has never been planned, so the houses have been built wherever a scrap of land could be found. To this day, most of the cottages in the village are simple structures of dry, rough granite, the upper floor housing the family and the lower floor used for the storage of harvested crops or, in winter, livestock; there are a few adobe houses that are little more sophisticated.

Puente Cobos, near Munogalindo, believed to be of Roman
origin with some medieval restoration. The arches were once
much taller, but are now largely buried in silt.

14km on from Bascoarrabal is Muñogalindo, nestling on the very edge of the plain at the foot of higher ground. It's a small community with a lot of history, the site of important archaeological finds such as the pre-Roman Peñáguila site (not to be confused with the modern community of the same name near Alicante). For its diminutive size, it has received more than its fair share of royal visits and, in 1812, Napoleon passed through, his troops looting the village's granary with no regard for what the locals would eat until the next harvest. It was due to be connected to the rail network late in the 19th Century, but the plan never came to fruition and as a result it managed to survive the Civil War untouched, attracting the attentions of neither side. The inhabitants continued with their lives much as their ancestors had done for hundreds of years well into the middle decades of the 20th Century when the population began to decline due to the large numbers of young people attracted to Avila and further afield, meaning that the village has changed little even in the latter half of the last century and first decade of this one. The finest building is probably the Casa-Palacio de la Familia Aboín, of medieval origin but much modernised during the 16th Century. La Familia Aboin were not the original owners of the house, having purchased it with the wealth they made selling off property purchased cheaply from the Marquis de Velada. This property had been sold to the Marquis' ancestor Teresa Carillo by the nuns of the Convento de Santa Clara de Rapariegos, to whom it had been donated by the Valderrábano family in 1470 - yet another example of how the aristocracy get richer and the rest don't. The Inglesia San Lucas Evangelista is also a fine building - little is known of its early history, but it's believed to have been the first church built in the village and to date from the 12th Century. It has benefited from a few additions over the years, the most modern being the restoration of interior and exterior woodwork in the middle of the 20th Century - sadly, in order to finance this essential work, the church was forced to sell some of its historical objects.

An example of the ancient building technique that was until
recently still common in La Torres - granite blocks infilled
with smaller stones, to be surfaced with adobe. Sadly, many
of these traditional structures are being left derelict - the
harsh local conditions soon reducing them into this sort of
state - or demolished to make way for modern homes.

After another few kilometres, the N-110 suddenly deviates 90 degrees to the right (the road is in open fields and permitted room for an uncomplicated bend rather than a sharp and hazardous corner) to negotiate La Torre. Despite the name, there is no tower of particular note in the village - it's believed to have derived its name from the Latin turris referring to the Roman villas of which remains have been excavated in the area. Having passed around the northern end of the village through a small copse, the road continues south-west for several kilometres until it reaches Villatoro. Today, it's small village home to a little over 200 people, but any visitor able to interpret simple clues will see that Villatoro must once have been a far grander place - it had a castle, of which only a tower remains, and the church is far larger than might be expected had the community always been so small. The village's position has a tendency to channel north winds directly through, thus creating a microclimate in which the inhabitants frequently have to tolerate temperatures far colder than the surrounding villages during winter, which can be a very harsh time of the year here. As the peloton approaches the village and the N-110 sweeps left to bypass it, the peloton continue onward into the village along the Calle Calvo Sotelo, rejoining the road on the other side at the point where it begins to climb the uncategorised (hence, without points) Puerto de Villatoro, topping out at 1385m - the actual climb being just over 200m - located at the the junction with the AV-P-637, after which the parcours descends 185m to Casas del Puerto de Villatoro which is located among very beautiful scenery.

Stone cross, San Miguel de
Corneja.

6km on, the peloton reaches the feeding station which comes 89km from the start. It passes north of San Miguel de Corneja, home to three ancient crosses and a traditional dish named Judías del Barco, "Jewish Boat," which evidently does not have kosher origins due to the bacon fat used in the recipe. After another few kilometres, the race reaches Piedrahita. The first documentary evidence of the town comes from the late 12th Century, but there must have been people here before that - as is apparently proven by the existence of standing stones in the nearby woods, believed to have been markers allowing ancient people to find their way home after hunting expeditions. These stones form the basis for one explanation of the name Piedrahita, which means "stone stuck."

The seemingly rather likable Duquesa
Maria, depicted by Goya.

The pleasant location made Piedrahita popular among the aristocracy in times gone by, and so the town has an unusually large number of grand buildings for its size. Many can be seen around the Plaza España; but the most famous is the Palacio de los Duques de Alba, of French Baroque style and set among formal gardens. It was built by Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, popularly known as the Old Duke and a close friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; but became the home of his daughter Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo who made it a meeting place for artists and intellectuals - including Goya, who painted her in 1785 and with whom she possibly had a sexual affair. Maria, who held no less than 54 aristocratic titles but supported the poor, was known for her liberal attitudes and regularly courted controversy; one one notable occasion to show displeasure towards the French royals, she had made numerous copies of a dress designed exclusively for the French queen and gave them to her servants. Famous also for her height, when her remains were exhumed to be moved to a different site in 1842, it was discovered that her legs had been sawed off in order to fit her body into the coffin and one foot was missing. She was exhumed again 103 years later, when science was able to confirm that her death aged 40 was caused by meningoencephalitis and not, as legend had it, due to poison administered by Manuel Godoy on the rders of Queen Maria Luisa.

A short way into Piedrahita, the peloton reaches a roundabout and turns right, the road leading to a junction between the CL-510 to the right and the AV-102 straight on. They take the latter option and, 100km from the start, come to the a junction where they turn right again onto the AV-104 which is straight but for a wide bend at Palacios de Corneja. Despite the name, meaning Palace of the Crows, there is no palace here; merely a partially-abandoned and dusty little hamlet - which means that it has a particular charm all of its own, and the squat church built of irregular granite blocks is both interesting and pretty. The road crosses a modern bridge west of a stone clapper-type bridge, presumably of some antiquity but, in this part of the world, possibly relatively modern. It then passes San Bartolome de Corneja around a bend before entering a straight run into Santa Maria del Berrocal. This little town became famous in the past for its cloth-manufacturing industry, sending locals out to all corners of the nation to sell the cloth and make into clothes, drapes and other items so that today the berrocalenses (as they're known) can be found throughout Spain, Portugal and Southern France. The road passes through on the Calle Concepcion which becomes narrow but should cause no problems, then turns an easy corner onto the Calle Nueva del Sur which presently becomes the Calle Cruces, leading out of town and back onto the AV-104.

Watchtower, Cespedosa de Tormes.

After 4km, the road becomes the SA-104 and enters the province of Salamanca before passing through Gallegos Solmirón. In another five, it passes north of Bercimuelle and, after 124km from the start, Cespedosa de Tormes which has a partly-ruined 15th Century watchtower which, unless work to preserve it is undertaken, will probably be completely ruined in the near future. It also has a handsome church built in the the same century, with a very imposing altarpiece and an unusual clock projecting from the roof of the tower rather than being located on the walls as is more common. The road follows the southern perimeter of the town, a route which may involve hazards such as diesel spills and street furniture, the exits to the west. It soon reaches a bridge crossing the wide Rio Tormes, from where it's possible to see the much older bridge to the south which now only stretches halfway across, terminating at a silty island in the river which empties into the artificial Embalse Santa Teresa a few kilometres north.

Soon, the N-110 passes underneath the A-66 motorway and the peloton turns right onto the N-630, travelling parallel to the motorway for a while before breaking away for the first intermediate sprint along the Calle Filiberic Villaldecs lading into Guijuelo - which ought to be made more interesting by the large number of speed humps along the road. The parcours narrows and passes right through the town, the inhabitants of which enjoy one of the highest per capita gross incomes in Spain largely due to the local pork industry - Bellota Oro, "Golden Acorn," is made here and has twice been voted the best ham in the world. The road out of town is mostly straight and should be hazard-free, but the peloton will need to negotiate a series of complicated roundabouts and junctions to get onto the DSA-170 leading to Fuentes de Béjar. Note that the parcours drops 50m in the half-kilometre between reaching the outskirts of the village and leaving it behind on the DSA-250, generating high speed and possible accidents if there are any slippery patches or detritus likely to cause punctures on the final bend.

Ledradra is reached 150km from the start, the parcours becoming narrower and potentially hazardous as it travels through the village along the Calle Traviersa and passing the town hall before joining the Calle Arriba leading out. A short distance to the south, it takes in a 90 degree right bend with a bridge; a section made even more hazardous by the surrounding trees and likelihood of slippery leaves/puncture-causing thorns on the road. The road then begins to climb before reaching Sanchotello then travels into the village via a straight section with speed humps, then turns left and over more speed humps to exit. It's a small town with nothing in the way of grand palaces or castles to attract the tourists, but there are some very pretty cottages and old buildings to interest those who take the time to look. However, the location at the foot of the forested hills is the most beautiful aspect of the place. We remain with the DSA-250 as it heads south-west, soon coming to the edge of the forest and then to Navalmoral de Béjar, a village on the verge of being completely abandoned - from 1950, when the population was the highest ever recorded at 402, it dropped to 56 in 2010. This is a pity, because it's an attractive and unspoiled place with a very pretty church and several good buildings. There's a tight hairpin bend and a bridge on the outskirts as the peloton head south, then a few fairly sharp bends and a narrow bridge further on towards the next town.

The medieval tower of the Inglesia de San
Juan Bautista.

After passing through a tunnel under a motorway, the peloton turns left onto the SA-220 which leads along the northern edge of Béjar before turning sharply right and into the centre of the town. Having passed through along a route without difficult corners but including many speed humps and a lot of street furniture, they join the N-630. Béjar has been inhabited since at least 400 BCE, later passing to Roman control and, in 713, Moorish. It returned to Christianity in the 11th Century under Alfonso VI, the fortified citadel and walls being built at this time, but was subject to several Moorish raids. During one of these raids, Christian troops covered themselves with the moss which grows on the rocky hills and thus camouflaged were able to sneak up on the Moorish stronghold and defeat it, an occasion still commemorated and re-enacted at the Feast of Corpus Christi each year. In the 18th Century, the locale grew rich from the production of cloth and became known for the liberalism of its population. This industry, combined with easy access to Catalonia, also enabled Béjar to benefit from the Civil War when it produced many of the uniforms worn by the Republican forces. It has long been home to a Jewish community, their history and that of Spain's Jewish population as a whole being told at the town's Museo Judío which includes a great deal of artifacts and information detailing the lives of Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the 15th Century. Other points of interest include El Bosque, a superb example of a Renaissance ornamental garden; the 13th Century Iglesia de San Juan Bautista; the Iglesia de El Salvador which was regarded as the town's most beautiful building from the date of its medieval completion until 1936 when all but a few remaining fragments were destroyed by fire and the Palacio de los Zúñiga which is built on the site of a Moorish fortress and retains two Moorish towers. One other place to see, if you don't care about or can ignore what takes place there, the octagonal bullring which is the oldest in Spain. It's also the birthplace of three professional cyclists: Roberto Heras, Moisés Dueñas and Laudelino Cubino, the latter having won stages of the Vuelta a Espana in 1987, 1991 and 1992.

As the peloton leaves Béjar behind, the riders begin both the second intermediate sprint and the final climb. This is an unusual situation, since sprints are more commonly held on flat sections, making the likely winners very difficult to predict - will it be a strong sprinter who can produce the explosive energy required even when riding uphill, or will it be a fast climber? An obvious choice would have been Alberto Contador, but he's not competing in the race this year. After four kilometres, having already climbed 200m, the riders come to a fork in the road and turn right onto the SA-100 and reach 1240m at La Hoya. 0.3km further on, they turn right onto the Carretera de la Covatilla and the climb becomes steeper with gradients up to 13.75%.

The ski run at La Covatilla.

Before long, the parcours comes to a series of 14 hairpin bends which take the road almost 400m higher to 1716m above sea level. The following straighter section up to La Covatilla at 1970m, with gradients up to 9.17%, is a real knee-grinder and lung-burster; making this last section a place where only the strongest climbers can triumph.

Predictions: It's a long, lumpy lead-up to a hard, high mountain - in other words, the sort of sadistic stage that makes its victims suffer before going in for the kill. To be in with a chance of winning, a rider needs to be able to keep up the pace through the first 165km - no mean feat in itself, with that Cat 3 near the start and the assorted uncategorised climbs - then arrive at the foot of the last climb with sufficient energy for a successful assault. Back in the day, this would have been an ideal stage for Eddy Merckx - or these days, were this a women's race, Marianne Vos who is increasingly looking set to take his crown as the greatest ever all-rounder. Of all those in this race, who can do that? Joaquin Rodriguez is the first obvious candidate - he's shown the best form by far of any of the climbers so far in the race and can keep on going at a high rate of knots when other climbers cannot. Another rider who may do well here is LeopardTrek's Jakob Fuglsang, a very useful all-rounder who came second in Stage 14 back in 2009 - a stage not at all dissimilar to this one if much shorter.

That is, assuming Philippe Gilbert's not in the mood.

Stage 14, 2009 (orange), when Fuglsang came second; and Stage 9, 2011 (pink) - the stages are similar
in many ways, so will he do well again? (Note - Stage 14 has been stretched so that the profiles can be
compared. It was considerably shorter than Stage 9, 157km compared to 183km.)

Weather: A little cooler than the early stages again, chiefly due to the majority of the course being at over 1000m. Expect around 25C at the start line, falling to 22C at the summit of the Cat 3 and fluctuating between 22 and 27 for the remainder of the route up until La Covatilla where it's likely to turn much cooler with 18C predicted at the summit. The first half of the stage will be subject to light headwinds, the second half to light crosswinds. However, as ever weather can change quickly in the mountains and wind speed could rise to moderate at altitude. No rain is expected anywhere on the stage.

More Stage Previews: click here