What's with... Alto de l'Angliru?

Alto de l'Angliru (from here)

Cycling is uniquely cruel among sports. Those who know little about it don't understand this, often assuming that a three-week stage race is much like an extended Sunday jaunt around the countryside. Those who race know that even if they come out as overall victor, the race will take more from them than they will ever get out of the race. It's a bloodsport - ever since the early days, there have been those races that seek to hurt those taking part; this being perhaps best summed up by Henri Desgrange, the Tour de France's first director, when he stated that for him the ideal Tour would be one in which only one rider finished - or perhaps better still by the existence of Paris-Roubaix, a race that actively seeks the worst roads in France and is more commonly known as The Hell of the North.

"It's bollocks, this race! You're working like an animal, you don't have time to piss, you wet your pants. You're riding in mud like this, you're slipping ... it’s a pile of shit." (Theo de Rooij on Paris-Roubaix)

Mont Ventoux became cycling's most feared climb with the tragic, legendary death of 29-year-old Tommy Simpson in 1967, leaving it known as the mountain that can kill; its reputation as a place of sacrifice cemented forever when it very nearly claimed Eddy Merckx three years later. In fact, it's considered so challenging that were it not for that reputation, it would probably be one of the less famous climbs - after all, it's been a part of the race just fourteen times since first inclusion in 1951. The Col du Galibier, the sixth highest mountain pass in Europe, has been a very big part of the Tour since 1911. Frequently the highest point of the race, Galibier is not especially steep but reaches 2645m above sea level - a height at which altitude sickness becomes a real factor. The Col du Tourmalet first featured in the race in 1910:

"His body heaved at the pedals, like an automaton, on two wheels. He wasn't going fast but he was at least moving. I trotted alongside him and asked 'Who are you? What's going on? Where are the others?' Bent over his handlebars, his eyes riveted on the road, the man never turned his head nor uttered one sole word. He continued and disappeared round a turn. Steinès had read his number and consulted the riders' list. Steinès was dumfounded. 'The man is François Lafourcade, a nobody. He has caught and passed all the cracks' ... Another quarter-hour passed before the second rider appeared, whom we immediately recognised as Octave Lapize. Unlike Lafourcade, Lapize was walking, half leaning on, half pushing his machine. But unlike his predecessor, Lapize spoke, and in abundance. 'You are assassins, yes, assassins!' To discuss matters with a man in this condition would have been cruel and stupid."

The cruelty among cycling's fans is unique, too. Is there any other sport in which the crowds are most excited and happy not when their heroes have won and are being showered in glory, but on the grinding ascent of a mountain such as the Alpe d'Huez when they're at their lowest ebb, in pain and exhausted? This is a sport in which the fans want to see their idols suffer.

When the Tour goes up Alpe d'Huez, it's a squalid, manic and sometimes lethal shambles, and that's just the way they like it. It's the Glastonbury Festival for cycling fans. (Tim Moore)

RCS Sport, the organisers of the Giro d'Italia, understand this. Wanting to attract new interest in their race and, perhaps, sick of perpetually playing second fiddle to their big French cousin, they included the Mortirolo Pass for the first time in 1990. There are three routes up Mortirolo, the hardest being the road from Mazzo di Valtellina - a 12.4km climb of 1300m which at one point hits a gradient of 18%.

If the Giro played second fiddle, the Vuelta was treated like a jobbing musician taken on simply to make up numbers in the orchestra. For many decades seen as the lesser of the three Grand Tours and even denounced by some as boring in comparison with the Tour and Giro, organisers Unipublic wanted their race to become known as a real test, an event in which teams would need to enter their very best and strongest riders rather than recent youthful acquisitions to see how they fared. So, they began scouring Spain to find a climb as harsh as anything the other Tours had ever included. Angliru was "discovered" by Miguel Prieto, one of the directors of the ONCE team, whilst holidaying at El Gamonal in 1997 - which, despite what many books claim, is not an alternative name for Angliru but the title of a mountain standing nearby and some 142m higher.

At that time, there was no road over the summit; merely a rough track known only to local shepherds and a few of the hardier hikers who visited the beautiful region. This made it unsuitable for inclusion in the race. However, the Ayuntamiento de Riosa (Riosa municipal council) made the decision to pave the road, bringing the Vuelta to the area and - with a bit of luck - tourists in its wake. It was featured for the first time in 1999 when the great El Chava José Maria Jimenez Sastre, brother of Tour winner Carlos, achieved one of the most legendary stage wins in cycling as he emerged out of thick fog at the summit. Four years later, he was dead, having suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 33 - leaving many wondering if this was caused by the sheer stress placed upon the hearts of climbing specialists.

The climb is 13.1km long and ascends through 1255m. The initial 5km are not especially challenging, with a low average gradient rising to 9.1% at the steepest - hard work for sprinters and mere mortals, but not an ordeal by the standards of professional grimpeurs. A flat section, with an average of just 2.1%, separates this lower section from the heights - where it becomes much, much more difficult. Once into the final 6km, the road enters Las Curvas de Les Cabanes with a 22% gradient over 0.15km, before becoming less steep for a short distance. Next up, La Curva Los Picones hits 20%, followed by La Curva Cobayos at 21.5%.

This is where the mountain gets serious - Angliru fights anyone who tries to reach its summit, testing their strength as they near the top with the fearsome La Cueña Les Cabres and a gradient of 23.8%. In 2003, when the stage was raced in heavy rain, team cars were unable to continue from this point after stalling on the steep slopes and being unable to gain sufficient grip to get going again - as a result, riders were forced to go on without support. Several did so with flat tyres, the mechanics unable to reach them. David Millar, having crashed three times on the narrow and technical road, abandoned the race in disgust. Any cyclist who can keep going through La Cueña Les Cabres has earned the right to think of him or herself as a hero, but the mountain hasn't finished yet: Aviru at 21.5% and Les Piedrusines at 20% wait before the top, remaining at 15% until the final half kilometre when it eventually settles down to 5%.

On average, a professional mountain specialist cyclist will take around two hours to climb Angliru. It is, without doubt, the most challenging climb in any of the Grand Tours; surpassing anything offered by the Tour, trumping the Giro's Mortirolo (maximum gradient a paltry 18%) and even the Zoncolan, introduced by RCS Sport specifically as a response to this mountain.

"What do they want? Blood? They ask us to stay clean and avoid doping and then they make the riders tackle this kind of barbarity." (Vicente Belda, Team Kelme manager)

Vuelta a España - Stage 14 Preview

Gaudi's Episcopal Palace and the Roman walls, Astorga

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What a funny sort of stage this one is. It's virtually plain all the way up to the 100km with no climbs any larger than 350m - though much of it's over 1000m; so what climbs there are will feel more difficult due to the effects of altitude, which begins to take an effect at that height. Then it suddenly heads skywards in a Category 2 ascent up to 1590m, climbing 310m in a little over 6km, before plunging rapidly down to 490m - not much more than half the altitude of the start. Then it's back up again again, this time a Cat 1 to 1350m; before another plunge and the final grind all the way to the finish line, 1750m up at La Farrapona in the stunning Parque Natural de Somiedo. It's going to be a good one, folks.

Catedral de Santa Maria, Astorga.

Start town Astorga began life as an organised community with a Roman garrison during the 1st Century CE, a civilian community soon growing up around it. The subsequent discovery of rich mineral veins brought prosperity in the early part of the city's history but, once they'd been exhausted and the Empire had declined, it was largely destroyed - despite the 3rd Century defensive walls, large sections of which still stand - and became a rural backwater; remaining so until the 11th Century when its position along the Camino de Santiago brought new prosperity which lasted until the next economic and cultural recession beginning in 1465. It suffered a thirty day siege during the War of Independence, but fared relatively well overall during the Napoleonic invasions when it was ear-marked as a future regional capital. The latter part of the 19th Century brought a revivial of good fortune, the railway ensuring prosperity. Today, Astorga retains economic health; its industry based largely on tourists who come both to see the city itself and as part of the restored popularity of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Agriculture, communications, finance and trade are also important contributors to the region's annual income.

There are many sights around the city, but the most spectacular are the medieval cathedral and - perhaps greater still - the Palacio Episcopal, designed by the great Catalan Modernist Antoni Gaudi and completed in 1915 to replace an earlier building destroyed by fire. Though his neo-Gothic creations are not as well-known as his later, more fantastical works such as the Parque Guell, Casa Batlló and of course La Sagrada Familia, the characteristic Gaudi signatures are all present; coming together to form a whole that looks like a castle dreamed up by Disney - if only Disney had such good taste.

The 3rd C. Roman walls at Astorga. A 3km section remains.

The neutral zone begins at the Plaza Eduardo de Castro, right in the heart of the city and very close to the Episcopal Palace, then progresses along the Calle de Sitios to the Calle de Lorenzo Segura, the Plaza Santocildes and Plaza España, then along the Calle la Bañeza and turns right to join the Calle del Postigo. This leads to the Calle Corredera Alta, Calle Minerva and Calle del Perpetuo Socorro, then to the Calle Cristo. The Calle Cristo joins the Carretera Pondaorado, also known as the LE-451 and leading north out of the city. The end of the neutral zone comes after 5.6km on the same road, just before a junction with the CV-193-10 which joins the route from the south-east.

Fontoria de Cepeda
(from Asturplaza.com)

The initial section of the road to La Carrera de Otero and through the following villages is unchallenging; wide, straight and flat with the exception of a very small but equally steep ramp at Fontoria de Cepeda. Quintana de Fon comes soon after, the crossroads at the centre of the village potentially hazardous due to the presence of a slightly raised, possibly slippery section just to the north. Cogorderos, scene of the 1811 battle of the same name in which the Spanish defeated the French, is the next village; then Villamejil and after 10.5km Castrillo de Cepeda. Sueros de Cepeda, 4km further on, is the largest town since we left Astorga. Today, in common with so many of Spain's small towns and villages, it suffers badly from ongoing depopulation as young people move away to seek work or merely more excitement and as a result it has something of a shabby appearance.  The church, built in the 18th Century, appears older at first glance due to having been constructed of much older stones recovered from a demolished church in the abandoned village of San Pedro nearby. Leaving the village, the peloton take a gentle Z-bend that was built to replace the much sharper bends of the old route which can still be seen. From this point until the last bend towards Abano, the road remains perfectly arrow-straight and, extending as it does between wide open fields with little cover, could prove difficult in the case of crosswinds.

Abano looks set to suffer the same fate as San Pedro; being full of dilapidated, derelict and rather picturesque (and, at night, probably very spooky) buildings, many of them well on their way to becoming ruins. The peloton travel straight through a crossroads just beyond the village and come presently to Quintana de Cepeda, just clipping the easternmost edge of this village split into two halves. Having passed through an easy Z-bend, the peloton round a smooth 90 degree left-hand bend and enter a twisty section as the road begins to climb more noticeably on the approach to San Feliz de las Lavanderas. The last section before the village is straight but climbs gradually, reaching 1200m just into the bend skirting around to the north. There are some large exposed rocks, site of a little public park with benches, immediately to the right entering into the bend - the park must be a very pleasant place to sit with its tranquil views of the valley to the south and the higher ground to the north, but the high number of derelict buildings suggests that all is not well here either.

Puente Ingeniero Carlos Fernandez Casado. The Vuelta's route can be seen
passing below the bridge on the right.

The road descends past Escuredo, taking in various bends which shouldn't cause issues, then comes to a junction with the LE-460 where the peloton turn left and soon reach a wide, curving bridge leading to a steep forested slope on the left. At this point, the road book states that the race should follow the LE-451 to Reillo. However, the LE-451 ends at the junction the peloton have just been through and does not go to Reillo. The most likely route appears to be continuing past Trascastro de Luna along the CV-128-19 to Lavelilla, then on to Reillo where the race turns right onto the LE-493 heading through Oterico towards Soto y Amío. The stage map appears to confirm this route, suggested a misprint in the route details, but we'll be monitoring the available information and altering this preview if necessary.

Sena de Luna

The riders reach Soto y Amío 50.2km from the start. Taking the road to the right at a fork allows them to side-swipe Quintanilla and progress onwards through Canales, turning left at La Magdalena onto the CL-623 and continuing north to Mora de Luna 5.3km along the road. They pass by Los Barrios de Luna and along the shores of the artificial lake, an unlit 100m tunnel along the way winning the race organisers no friends among the peloton, cyclists being known for a great hatred of hazards such as this. Once through the tunnel, the race soon reaches Mirantes de Luna; the home of the sailing club who use the lake and site of a ruined church. The route then continues to follow the shores, crossing a couple of bridges and passing under the AP-66 as it crosses the lake on the Puente Ingeniero Carlos Fernández Casado suspension bridge and arriving soon at two bends at the foot of a steep and rocky cliff before passing Pobladura de Luna an attractive village in an even more attractive setting just west of the lake with the mountain rearing to almost 1700m to the north.

Torrebarrio

Pobladura is also the beginning of the stage's first intermediate sprint, run along the perfectly straight road immediately west of the village leading to Sena de Luna - it climbs very slightly in the first half, then descends. Almost immediately at the end, 89.2km from the start, is the feeding station. Shortly afterwards they travel by Rabanal de Luna, another attractive village set among rocky outcrops, and then the Ermita de Pruneda perched on the mountainside. Having passed by Villafeliz, the route reaches a fork in the road and takes the right-hand path, the obviously-Roman LE-481 leading to the villages of San Emiliano with a beautiful little church topped by a red tiled roof; Candemuela with excellent views to the mountains north-east, some almost 2400m high; and Torrebarrio with its church on the eastern end of a rock-topped outcrop 20m above the village, looking as though it's been built on the end of a dragon's tail. The reason for the church's position away from the village is that it was once located within the walls of a castle, the "torre" in Torrebarrio, which has since vanished.

Cat 2 Puerto de la Ventana begins 104.4km from the start, the road beginning climb shortly after Torrebarrio as the race approaches a bridge. The first hairpin comes at 1350m with two more - one easy, one tight - around 0.35km later near a parking place with excellent views. There are those who watch cycling races for bovine reasons, and this is an ideal place to see the cows grazing on the mountain pastures. Another hairpin over a bridge points us east and then, as we round a bend clinging to the steep mountain side which drops away to the right, we reach the highest point at 1590m, 111.1km from the start.

Ermita de Nostra Senora de Trobaniello. Is
it just me or does the foal look a bit like
Andy Schleck...?
(image from Descubreaturias.com)

Just around the bend is a fork where the peloton turn left to race along the AS-228. We enter a forested section to start the long descent with its many hairpins and challenging bends, the first of which comes in a clearing by the Ermita de Nostra Señora de Trobaniello, a chapel visited more often by horses and cows than humans these days.

There are more tight bends hidden among the trees, all of them potential trouble spots due to leaves, moss and the various other slippery stuff encountered in forests. There is all the likelihood of punctures due to thorns, flat tyres on fast descents frequently proving disastrous and making for a nerve-wracking section; so it's quite a relief to emerge back into open pasture and round the next hairpin. There are three more a little way further ahead, then the peloton enters the last section before reaching Paramo situated 120km from the start. It's an attractive village and although some houses are a little ramshackle, the overall effect is of a community considerably more wealthy than its neighbours.

Leaving the village behind, we climb into a narrow, rocky valley - one of the most beautiful sections of the stage, though the riders aren't going to like it due to the presence of another unlit tunnel, this one slightly longer than the last at 0.11km. Still - could have been worse, chaps: if Zomegnan had designed this parcours, the tunnel would have been 11km and on fire. On the other side, we ignore the TE-5 heading into Fresneu - a pity, as the village looks well-worth a visit - and continue on the AS-228 and through San Salvador de Duio, Riello and Las Vegas until we reach Samartin and the junction with the AS-225. We turn left, travelling east towards Villanueva and immediately beginning Cat 1 Puerto de San Lorenzo.

The climb is 10.1km long and ascends through 860m, making it the second longest - though not the second highest - on the stage. Along the way, we skirt past La Plaza, Quintanal and Villanueva de Cangas; hitting the first hairpin shortly afterwards. Since it enters a short descent and is surrounded by trees, there's a chance this one might be slippery. The next takes us over 1000m; the one after that is at Braña de Tuiza which cannot really claim to be a village at all, more a collection of cottages and outhouses - some very picturesque, especially those with thatched roofs. There's another one - with parking space and thus a likely point for a village of campervans to swell the local population - just to the north; at which point the road swings south and then west as it approaches the next pair. The summit, 1350m above sea level, comes at a bend in the road 142.1km from the start. The descent is steep, fast and technical with several challenging bends and two hairpins shortly before Orderias.

Landscape typical of Somiedo.

After a few more kilometres, we reach a junction with a connecting road joining the AS-265 to the AS-227. That might sound a simple enough matter - only to achieve it, the connection needs to descend through 145m in 0.3km, and that takes four very tight, very steep hairpins. At the bottom is La Riera de Somiedo where the race turns south. Just out of the village, it reaches a road on the right that features eleven hairpins in 0.13km; the riders will be glad we're not going that way today. Castro, passed on the right, marks the beginning of the second intermediate sprint and the start of a section featuring three unlit tunnels - two of 50m and one of 25m. We turn left at the following junction onto the SD-1, almost immediately entering an unlit tunnel 150m long, and begin the final climb: Especial Category (equivalent to the Tour de France's Hors-Categorie) and 1010m to La Farrapona. There's another unlit tunnel, this time 80m long, a little over a kilometre before Veigas and two 90 degree bends with a bridge in the middle shortly before Villarán, but the road is wide and shouldn't cause problems other than the physical stress of the climb.

Having left the village behind, the route takes two hairpins past Arbeyales and enters a flatter section leading to Endriga, then onwards to Saliencia. From this point, there are 7.3km to the end of the stage and 615m still to climb; the road begins to get much steeper from now on. A left-hand bend by a large industrial building on the edge of the village could prove hazardous. The next section, despite the climb, is once again unchallenging; being made up of long straights and gentle bends. Soon we reach the first hairpin and reach 1500m around the bends that follow, then come to another pair of hairpins with a non-technical stretch in between and reach 1600m shortly afterwards. A third hairpin - entered via a bridge narrower than the road - is a short way ahead. We reach 1700m on the next straight which leads straight into the carpark at the highest point, the stage finish 175.8km from the start.

Parque Natural de Someido. In the foreground, a teito.

The Parque Natural de Somiedo covers almost 40,000 hectares and includes some of the most beautiful natural scenery in Europe. Declared a protected national park in 1988, it was later granted Biosphere Reserve status by UNESCO in 2000 which require all farming activity taking place within the region to be carefully managed and sustainable so as to have zero detrimental impact upon the environment. Roughly 25% of the park is forested, the habitat of the Cantabrian brown bear - around 30 are believed to live here. Golden eagles, capercaillies, pine martens, genets, wolves, wild boar and the strange Iberian desman also survive here. Human life in the park is every bit as interesting as the animal life, for it's home to a nomadic and distinct ethnic group known as the Vaqueiros de Alzada; their unique folklore and mythology of very great interest to ethnologists and other branches of anthropology, and still very evident today despite many centuries of discrimination at the hands of the church. The Park is also famous for its teito, small huts similar to the pallozas we saw yesterday, some dating from the 12th Century - many can be rented by tourists.

Part of a traditional Vaqueiros de Alzada wedding ceremony, in which a pair
of oxen haul the bride and groom's bed to their new home.

Predictions: Like yesterday, the outcome of this stage is all but impossible to predict. The obvious choice at the betting shop would be a sprinter who can also climb; but those are a very rare breed. A rider who can mount a successful breakaway and keep up the pace all the way to the first mountain, thus creating a sufficient advantage to keep his lead in the climbs, could do well - the most likely bet is a climber who can keep up the pace on the flat sections. There is one man who excels in that category, but unfortunately he's not in the Vuelta this year as he awaits the decision over the Clenbuterol he consumed in a contaminated steak at last year's Tour de France. Chavanel, then.

Weather: Pleasantly cool again - it was actually quite a bit hotter here at Cyclopunk Towers in Cambridge today than it was anywhere along the race's route. Expect a high of 21C at the startline, dropping to no lower than 19C until the high slopes of Puerto de la Ventana where it's likely to be around 15C. It'll rise back to about 19C in the valley beyond, dropping again to the same low at the top of Puerto de la San Lorenzo, then rise back up to 19C as the altitude decreases. Higher up in Lagos de Somiedo, it might turn quite chilly - perhaps as low as 11C at the summit finish. Echelons will be the order of the day once again, with gentle to moderate crosswinds expected throughout the course. There will become stronger at altitude, verging on moderate to strong at the peaks. No rain is predicted anywhere along the stage, but early sun will soon turn to cloud after the first 20km or so, becoming thicker towards the end.

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Think you're pretty handy on a bike...?

Well, perhaps you are.

But no matter how good you are now and no matter how much better you get, you will NEVER be even nearly as good nor as cool as this little kid.

Vuelta a España - Stage 13 Preview

Santa Marina, Sarria.

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Ever since the route was first announced, riders have been saying that this year's Vuelta is a difficult race. Stage 13 proves their point and may well be unlucky for some - especially those that don't like climbing because there are mountains all the way.

The first two, both respectable Category 3s, come in the first 35km; then there are two Cat 1s between 60 and 100km - though how the 1670m Puerto de Ancares got classified as a Cat 1 is anyone's guess. As if that wasn't enough, there's one final Cat 3 and an unclassified climb in the last 40km too. Deep Heat muscle rub, anyone?

Sarria is a stage town for the very first time today. Located 111km - the minimum distance required for a legitimate pilgrimage - from Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St. James, Sarria is known for the the splendour of its churches; twenty of which are of particular architectural interest. Of equal fame are the Torre la Fortaleza de los Marqueses de Sarria, a picturesque and ivy-covered edifice which is all that remains of the medieval castle, and the 13th Century Monasterio de la Magdalena. The town's fortunes are closely linked to the popularity of the pilgrimage - during a long period when it was almost forgotten, Sarria was reduced to just 70 hourses.

Rua Maior, Sarria, 1965.

Human inhabitation of the region extends back far beyond the introduction of Christianity into Spain - there are dolmens, ancient forts and rock carvings near the town that predate the churches by thousands of years. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of two Roman villas in the locale along with a grave marker now displayed in the Museum of Pontevedra. The Moors, as is the case across much of northern Spain, left little trace of their occupation; but their tolerant attitude towards the religion of their native subjects permitted the construction of many churches and the development of the Monasterio de Santo Estevo de Calvor, established in 785, and so there is no lack of grand buildings despite looting by the French in the 19th Century.

The neutral zone begins just south of the town's main part on the Calle de Benigno Quiroga, also known as the LU-546, which heads north-east into town. The peloton will turn left at a fork in the road to travel along the Calle de Matías López and then left again onto the Rua de Calvo Sotelo. This leads over a wide bridge and on to the LU-636 which they turn right to join, continuing on the same road until the reach the start of the race after 5.2km. There's a short but steep climb in the first few kilometres, then the first categorised climb - Alto O Pico da Pena, summit 950m, climb 430m - begins after 6.3km. The road, previously dead straight, becomes twisty at San Antolin and passes a steep wooded slope to the right and curves around it near Galegos. There are some difficult bends as we reach 900m above sea level a short way on from the junction where the LU-0503 joins the road.

Becerrea. Any town where locals create their
own mini-beach at the side of the road
sounds a fun place to me.

The summit comes after 15.3km at a tight left corner in a forested section, another 90 degree left lies around 0.35km further on but shouldn't cause problems, whereas a bend about the same distance further still comes after a 50m descent and will be taken at higher speed, making it a potential hazard. A small climb precedes a hairpin bend, then it's downhill into Vilouta. Another descent leads into a hairpin just north of Tortes before a short climb past Eixibron. To the right of the road is a tiny village named Herbon with the low stone houses traditional to this region. The road enters forest concealing a hairpin which could be a hazard due to slippery leaves etc., then turns 90 degrees left for the final short descent into Becerreá at 25.3km.

While not without its charms, Becerreá is perhaps not the most aesthetically appealing of towns - there's a little too much grey concrete for that. However, the busy social calendar revealed on the municipality's website suggests it's a fun and pleasant place to live and all in all rather likable. Once within the town, the road merges into the N-VI, called the Calle Carlos III as it passes through. The first intermediate sprint begins at 27km from the start, travelling uphill. A very tight right corner to join the LU-0708 marks the beginning of the second Cat 3 climb, Alto de O Lago, at 28.3km. There is a difficult hairpin around 0.9km from the junction.

The road reaches 900m above sea level as it enters forest, then veers off to the north when it emerges to avoid a steep 200m slope. It then passes beside more forest along a ridge and takes a 90 degree right as another road joins from the left, closely followed by another on the right - both look to be poor quality, leading to the possibility of mud, dust or grit causing a hazard - before traversing the ridge, being joined by a third road and then crossing over the top at 34.6km, the summit of this climb. The landscape east and west is some 200m+ lower and the ridge stretches off north and south, giving some of the best views of the stage. After around 5km, it climbs back to over 1000m again, then descends to a crossroads where we go straight on. The descent is fast but relatively untechnical.

When the road reaches a fork, the peloton turn right and head towards Navia de Suarna. It then follows the high ground around the beautiful Val de Córneas, coming soon to a forest and a crossroads where they turn right again. The steepest - and fastest - part of the descent begins just around a left hand bend, 0.8km from the crossroads. The view on a clear day from the bend to the high mountains in the distance are spectacular. A difficult left hand bend leads into two sweeping bends, the first left and the second right, then the parcours drops below 700m on a short twisty section immediately afterwards with more tight bends to come. Perhaps the most dangerous is the very tight corner in forest at 42°58'3.30"N 7° 1'49.34"W, a very likely point for an accident.- and the final hairpin upon entering Navia de Suarna.

The medieval bridge at Navia de Suarna.

We enter the town across a cobbled, very narrow bridge - there's only sufficient width for two bikes to cross side-by-side with any safety; though three might just make it with luck on their side, so expect to see this attempted as nobody will want to lose time in the bottleneck that will invariably form at the entrance to the bridge. Any rider hitting the rough stone walls will be able to consider themselves fortunate if all they do is scrape the skin off their legs.

The village is very beautiful indeed with many stone buildings of great antiquity and a medieval castle. There are much older buildings, including dolmens, scattered around the area. As we leave the bridge we turn left onto the LU-702 - though the road passes through thick forest, it's mostly straight and shouldn't create any issues. We follow it until we come to a tight right corner where we join the Estrada de Navia A Rao where we begin the ascent of Alto de Folgueiras de Aigas, the first of the two Cat 1s. The first hairpin comes after approximately 0.1km, the second 0.4km after that. At the next, a little further through some trees, is a large and rather spooky looking abandoned building on the perimeter of Munis; then the road veers away back into forest, climbing up to another hairpin before two simple bends take us above and past the village. There's a tight right corner about 0.5km ahead, then another right, a left and a final right a short way further.

A sharp U-shaped bend followed by yet another 90 degree right corner mark the point where we top 800m. Having passed some houses, we reach a Z-bend followed by a fork in the road, this marking the summit. We take the left route and begin the steep, fast descent which has many technical bends and 15 hairpins of varying complexity. The views are good here, especially to the east over Rao far below. A little way on, the race reaches Murias. The village's finest feature is its location among the green mountains, some of which have dramatic rocky cliffs, but there are interesting buildings too - the old village granary, built of timber and equipped with unusually tall mushroom-shaped legs (the rats round here must be good at jumping) and, east of the village, a peculiar round structure formed of a low stone wall with a door. Whatever it was, it looks ancient. The road leads down to the southern extremity of the village then loops back up to the north before beginning to ascend in preparation for the beginning of the second Cat 1 climb, 1670m Puerto de Ancares, after 84.6km from the start.

Balouta (borrowed from Mi mágico León Blog).

Leaving the village, we loop around the mountain immediately west of Murias and once again travel south on a road that is twisty in places - although it's not an especially challenging section, there is an increased likelihood of punctures caused by sharp stones washed down from the slopes above. The final section leading into Balouta as - apart from a tight bend near the town - straight, but climbs steeply. Balouta has a number of round stone houses known as pallozas, constructed of infilled dry stones with a thatched roof, the style of which has probably changed little since the Neolithic roundhouses they closely resemble - they are, in fact, the model for the Celtic roundhouses inhabited by Asterix and Obelix. Some are in a sad state of disrepair, a few have been converted into garages while the owner lives in a more modern dwelling nearby, others now have corrugated iron or plastic roofs, but many appear to be well-loved family homes and it's frequently possible to see craftsmen using the age-old skills passed down to them through many generations as they re-thatch a roof or repair the walls.

Puerto de Ancares, the highest point of Stage 13.

The parcours reaches 1100m just as the peloton reach the village and continues to climb, reaching 1300m at the first sharp bend leading into a Z-bend. The first pair of hairpins - both rising through 10m - come shortly afterwards. Having climbed another 20m, we reach a crossroads and turn left and, within a kilometre, reach 1500m along a straight section. The highest point (42°52'13.54"N 6°49'3.31"W) is reached at a series of five hairpins from where, if the weather is clear, the mountain's real summit more than 300m higher can be seen to the south. It may well be cold at the top, this being an area with a moderate climate, and possibly foggy too.

The steepness of the initial part of the descent can be clearly seen on the stage's altitude profile, but what can't be seen so easily is the number of very tight hairpin bends - the riders will need to exercise extreme caution here and any who dare to tackle it at high speed are either very talented descenders indeed or mad. It's the sort of road that sorts one from the other - and can end the careers of those it finds lacking in the skill it demands.

We drop below 1000m along a straight section leading south of Tejedo de Ancares, not quite reaching the village before they turn a sharp left and right to proceed onwards to Pereda de Ancares, the road descending in the latter half. Pereda has more of those picturesque pallozas and a church that is really little more; though it has a bell tower and a tiled roof. Candin comes 2km later as the peloton reaches a crossroads, passing straight through to by-pass the village, then a junction with the CV-126-15 leading to Villasumil - they don't go that way, but the camera operators aboard the helicopters are very unlikely to be able to resist the attractive little community with its stone houses. The final categorised climb of the stage, 1045m Cat 3 Puerto de Lumeras, begins 2km later after 112km from the start, reaching the highest point in a wide open area where three small roads join 4.7km later. - this shouldn't be much of a test for the climbers, even so soon after the last climb, but will be a real knee-breaker for the rest. There are four hairpins on the descent - the first of medium difficulty and unlikely to cause problems; the second tight and difficult, making it a possible hazard; the third wide and easy and the fourth - which curves around a mansion - medium difficulty.

San Andres, Vega de Espinareda (from Panoramio)

Having passed south-west of Fontoria and the junction leading to it, the peloton take a sweeping bend south and head into Sésamo. The largest town we've seen for some time, Sésamo has a variety of interesting buildings such as the ancient houses with their rickety wooden balconies near the church. It's no richer than the mountain villages we've been thrpugh earlier today, however, and many of the structures are in an appalling state - this is a tour of the real Spain, not a trip around the sanitised parts usually visited on package tours. The LE-712 passes straight through, descending, bringing us to Vega de Espinareda within seconds.

Ocero

We enter the town along the Av. de los Doctores Terrón, past a fine villa next to the road, and across the river on a wide bridge. Just to the north-east, within easy view, is the town's original three-arched medieval bridge. There is a fine old monastery, sympathetically restored, dedicated to San Andres. The road enters two wide bends once it's through the town centre, then enters a series of bends in forest north of El Espino. The Vuelta's road book states that it becomes the LE-711 here, our Rough Guide map (and Google Earth) claim otherwise - however, the names of Spanish roads do seem variable and either, or possibly neither, might be correct. Whatever it's called, it climbs towards the next village, Ocero, 131km from the start and the beginning of the second intermediate sprint. One thing not to be missed in Ocero is a remarkable sculpture, apparently carved from a real tree trunk and depicting a figure pinning a poster onto the trunk. As the peloton reach the forest south of the village, it begins climbing again - but since this one is uncategorised, there are no points to be had. A little way further on is a junction, where the LE-712 turns right - the way ahead in the LE-711 to Sancedo, the way we're going.

Cabanos Raros' flag.

Two relatively non-technical hairpins take us down through 70m and join up with the last section before the village before the road travels straight through and becomes almost perfectly straight en route to Barrio de la Mallarinas, then twisty again through Barrio Valle del Agua. A crossroads - straight through - brings us to Cabañas Raras; a town with a remarkable flag that looks as though it was designed on an early computer. Just south of the town is a large roundabout, something of which we've seen far fewer on this stage than in most of those that came previously. The race travels straight across - the route around to the right is shorter, but that to the left is considerably less tight and as a result could be the quicker choice. The parcours either side Cortigueira is straight and relatively level, making it a suitable place for teams wishing to put the pressure on opponents to push the peloton up to a high speed. However, there's a large truck depot just to the south, making this a very likely spot for diesel spills.

A fly-over carries the race across the A-6 motorway just before Columbrianos - there's a noticeable change in the feel of the surroundings here: they no longer look nor feel like sleepy mountain villages and pallozas have given way to modern industrial units; these are the suburbs of the city, and soon the stage ends. Yet Columbrianos still relies upon agriculture for a large percentage of its annual income, giving it the character of an independent market town rather than a mere satellite conurbation, and its church - with a tower rebuilt in 1948 after it was destroyed by lightning, is pretty.

Just outside of the town is a roundabout leading to a junction with the N-VI, the peloton turning right onto it and travelling west for a short while. Soon, they reach another junction leading onto the Av. de Galicia, then turn right at the first roundabout onto a connecting road, turning left at the end onto the Av. de la Cemba. Very soon, they reach a sharp left onto the Av. de Portugal, one of the main routes into the heart of the city. They take the third exit at the roundabout ending the road, then almost immediately take a sharp left for the Av. de los Escritores and, having passed by the railway museum - a must-visit for anyone with an interest in steam power - right for the Av. de la Libertad. The road is straight with a roundabout after 0.2km followed by a 0.4km straight, another roundabout followed by another 0.4km to the stage finish 158.2km from the start.

Castillo de Templario, Ponferrada.

Ponferrada, with over 70,000 inhabitants, is the second largest city in the region and has a wealth of attractions for visitors. The castillo is undoubtedly one of the most interesting, occupying a city centre site that has been fortified for many thousands of years - archaeologists have discovered traces of fortresses from as long ago as Celtic times here, beneath later structures built by the Romans and Visigoths. In 1178, the site was transferred into Templar ownership by Fernando II, no doubt keen to enlist their help in keeping the Moors at bay. Following the Order's dissolution early in the following century, it was given to Fernando IV's younger brother, Infante don Felipe. In 1340, it was given by Alfonso XI to his chief steward, a man named Pedro Fernández de Castro who was responsible for the construction of many of the buildings and fortifications we see today. It then remained a possession of the Royal family until the middle of the 19th Century, when it entered a period of dramatic decline - large sections of it were sold off and demolished so that the masonry could be used elsewhere in the city, reducing it to little more than a quarry, despite the city growing wealthy after valuable tungsten deposits were discovered nearby. What was left became a listed and protected National Monument in 1924, ending nearly three quarters of a century of neglect and willful damage.

Basilica de la Encina.

Tungsten is not the only mineral to have been mined in Ponferrada - there are numerous traces of mines dating to as long ago as the Roman period, many of them producing precious metals and explaining why the fortress was important to them. The city's churches are also of interest, especially the Renaissance Basilica de La Encina - construction began in 1573 but was halted several times due to economic recession and plague, the building not being completed until 1670. As a result, it combines elements of typically Renaissance architecture and others from later periods; this is not, however, the reason for the Baroque upper half of the tower, which was completed in Renaissance style and later partially destroyed by lightning with Baroque repairs carried out as a result.

Predictions: Odd one, this. The finish is tailor-made for a sprinter and would especially have suited Mark Cavendish or Marcel Kittel - unfortunately, Cav's long gone and the word on the wire is Kittel will be abandoning the race after Stage 12 (Update: Kittel's decision to leave the race has now been confirmed). However, those two Cat 1s could put all the sprinters out of contention every bit as easily as the finish could take glory from a climber. So, it looks like it'll be a puncheur - or perhaps anyone who feels they have the strength to break out early and maintain a good lead.

Weather: Looks set to be much the same as Stage 12 with temperatures ranging from 20C at the start, down to a low of 12C on the Puerto de Ancares anda high of 24C at the finish. It's likely to be wet again with rain predicted from the 60km point, getting heavier as the race climbs Ancares and then clearing up from 120km to the end. The wind, though moderate, will be changeable: crosswinds for the first 20km, tailwinds for the following 30km, crosswinds all the way to the top of the Alto de Folgueiras de Aigas and an extremely welcome tailwind up Ancares which should continue through the rest of the stage. As ever, weather can change rapidly and is very difficult to predict at altitude - with three peaks over 1000m and Ancares reaching 1650m, things may prove very different for the riders.

More Previews: click here

Vuelta a España - 2011 Stage Guides

Vuelta a España - 2011 Index

Stage Guides

2011 Race Preview

Stage 1: Benidorm - Benidorm (20th August)

Stage 2: La Nucia - Playas de Orihuela (21st August)

Stage 3: Petrer - Totana (22nd August)

Stage 4: Baza - Sierra Nevada (23rd August)

Stage 5: Sierra Nevada - Valdepeñas de Jaén (24th August)

Stage 6: Úbeda - Córdoba (25th August)

Stage 7: Almadén - Talavera de la Reina (26th August)


Stage 8: Talavera de la Reina - San Lorenzo de El Escorial (27th August)


Stage 9: Villacastin - La Covatilla (28th August)


Stage 10: Salamanca-Salamanca (29th August)


Stage 11: Verin - Mazaneda Ski Station (31st August)


Stage 12: Ponteareas - Pontevedra (1st September)


Stage 13: Sarria - Ponferrada (2nd September)


Stage 14: Astorga - La Farrapona (3rd September)


Stage 15: Aviles - Alto de l'Angliru (4th September)


Stage 16: La Olmeda - Haro (6th September)


Stage 17: Faustino V (Oion/Oyón) - Peña Cabarga (7th September)

Stage 18: Solares - Noja (8th September)


Stage 19: Noja - Bilbao (9th September)


Stage 20: Bilbao - Gasteiz (Vitoria) (10th September)


Stage 21: Jamara Circuit - Madrid (11th September)

"Without doubt the most thorough Tour de France Stage 17 Preview..." (Dolomedia) (We'll try to do the same for the Vuelta, too - JO)

Vuelta a España - Stage 19 Preview

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

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