Lucy Garner wins Johnson HealthTech GP Round 4

Full report and results

Emakumeen Bira 2012 Stage 4 and final General Classification

Report and full GC result here

Stage 4 Top Ten

  1.   Annemiek Van Vleuten  Rabobank  3h06'59" 
  2.   Emma Johansson  Hitec Products-Mistral Home  +1" 
  3.   Trixi Worrack  Specialized-Lululemon  ST
  4.   Sharon Laws  AA Drink-Leontien.nl  +4" 
  5.   Alena Amialyusik  Be Pink  +1" 
  6.   Judith Arndt  Orica GreenEdge-AIS  ST
  7.   Anna Sanchis  Bizkaia-Durango  +48"
  8.   Claudia Haüsler  Orica GreenEdge-AIS  +51"
  9.   Christelle Ferrier-breneau  Hitec Products-Mistral Home  ST
  10.   Kaat Hannes  Lotto Belisol   +52" 



General Classification Top Ten

  1.   Judith Arndt  Orica GreenEdge-AIS  08:30:59 

  2.   Emma Johansson  Hitec Products-Mistral Home  +00:07 

  3.   Annemiek Van Vleuten  Rabobank   00:14 

  4.   Alena Amialyusik  Be Pink  00:39 

  5.   Sharon Laws  AA Drink-Leontien.nl  00:42 

  6.   Lucinda Brand  AA Drink-Leontien.nl  00:55 

  7.   Trixi Worrack  Specialized- Lululemon  01:21 

  8.   Emma Pooley  AA Drink-Leontien.nl  01:50 

  9.   Anna Sanchis  Bizkaia-Durango  02:05 

  10.   Claudia Haüsler  Orica GreenEdge-AIS  02:30 

  11.   Ellen Van Dijk  Specialized-Lululemon  03:10 

Tour of Beijing - Stage 4 Guide

Mutianyu (public domain image)

Stage Map: click here
Stage Profile: click here
Stage Itinerary: click here

The penultimate stage of this first ever Tour of Beijing is also the longest, covering 189.5km through the towns and countryside to the north of Beijing and makes two visits to the Great Wall - during the first, the riders will pass through the Wall at Huanghuacheng, where two stretches are joined by a dam; and at the second they'll leave the main route to complete a short circuit up to Mutianyu and back - the best-preserved, best-built and most spectacular of the several sections of defences forming the Wall as a whole. It ends at the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Centre with its several kilometres of lakes, rivers and white-water courses purpose-built for the Olympics.

The Guyaju Ruins in Yanqing County were once occupied
by the Kumo Xi, a tribe of fierce Mongolian warriors
(© pfctdayelise CC2.5)

The neutral zone begins at the Gui Chuan Square in Yanqing, capital town of Yanqing County - the exact route is, once again, not terribly clear from details in the roadbook. Having left the Square, the peloton travels east for a while along the Hubei Road before crossing the river and joining Binhe Road heading west at some unspecified point, we think most likely the Yongxi Highway crossing. Directions for the first 17km remain unclear - one road, the G101, doesn't seem to exist and is presumably a misprint for the G110. This, says the itinerary, should be followed until the beginning of a 1km section on Hubei Road again; but this appears to bear little correlation to either the road layout or what is shown on the official map. Since we need to get to Hunan Road, we think the most likely route would be to continue on Binhe Road as it crosses the G110, arriving at the S216 just over 0.5km later - the two roads are also known as the Jingyin and Old Jingyin Roads, making entirely feasible the idea of a route planner becoming confused. Turning right and then left 400m later brings the race onto Hunan East Road, with the stage's first intermediate sprint beginning some 500m later (40°27'15.67"N 115°59'33.15"E).

2km ahead, the route reaches what the roadbook states to be Yanqing Road but maps state is Yankang Road, turning left and then right at the next junction for Huanhu Road. We're now directed to find Kang Hang Road - trouble is, the road registered under that name is in Singapore - as we need to get to the S217, we assume the correct road is the one beginning at 40°26'58.84"N 115°57'34.54"E and ending at 40°26'33.87"N 115°52'42.83"E, where the peloton turn right towards another section of the G110 approximately 4km away followed by another unspecified route to find the X020 County Road (we think they'll turn left and travel west for a short way on the G110, then right and north on the X012 County Road and right again to continue east on the X020 - the official maps seem to support this). Somewhere along this road, with 51km covered since the end of the neutral zone, the second intermediate sprint begins. Towards the end of the road, we'll have excellent views of the mountains to the left, over 1000m high. Another not very clearly-pointed out section leads to the S232 road, apparently via the X026 - however, the X026 is a considerable distance away to the south in Beijing.

Mutianyu is 2.25km long and has 22 watchtowers. Whereas
other sections are built of bricks, earth and whatever was
available, here the structure is granite.
(© Fabian Dany CC2.5)

We then follow the S232 east, reaching the feed zone 97.5km from the start. Riders will want to take on board a decent amount of energy gels - attentive readers will have spotted the lack of climbs in the first half of this stage. The first, a Cat 3, starts 4.5km after the feed zone and, having already climbed for some distance, the riders will need to climb 132m in 2.5km to reach the top. The descent is long and fast.

We remain on the S232 as far as Sihaizhen where we turn right, right again and left to join Ansi Road, leading 20km to Huanghuachengcun (note that on the official Tour website, the village is misspelled Huang Hui Zhen). It's here that the race passes by the dam connecting two stretches of Great Wall. Since 2010, there have been numerous eyewitness reports made by people who claim to have seen a large, fiery object falling to Earth in the area on the night of October the 30th - this has, naturally, got UFO fans hot under to collar. Whatever the object was - indeed, if the object ever was - there have been no corresponding accounts of aircraft in trouble nor wreckage/craters on the mountainsides.

Now we join the X009, leading through Huanghuazhencun - the probable cause of the of the confusion a few kilometres previously). The second climb, 159m in 4km, is rated Cat 2 and begins 125km from the start - that category seems a little more than would be expected, suggesting that the road isn't of the best quality. It's also very twisty as it climbs and could potentially be dangerous if wet (or while being bombarded with mysterious fiery UFOs). The summit comes at the entrance to the Tuoling Tunnel (40°24'9.66"N 116°23'32.82"E) which, as tends to be the case with tunnels in rural China, is unlit - it's short, but the riders won't like it due to the hazard it presents.

Having emerged back into daylight, the race follows the road right and descends quickly through Sha Yu Village before arriving at Bohaizhen Bridge 3km later. The right turn onto it is tight, but the bridge is wide and of good quality so crashes are unlikely. Bohaizhen Town is around 1.6km ahead. The stage's final climb begins 3.5km later at a large roundabout (40°24'53.05"N 116°32'19.11"E) where the race turns left, entering the circuit up to Mutianyu (40°25'59.83"N 116°33'33.35"E) and back down again. It's remarkable that this section - which, as we mentioned earlier, is the best-preserved along the Wall's length - has survived so intact: in the years following the Cultural Revolution, the Maoist government declared the Wall to be a symbol of the nation's feudal past and encouraged the populace to help themselves to as much of the masonry as they could cart away, even demolishing some parts to assist them. Were it not for the craggy ridge followed by this section, its proximity to Beijing would almost certainly have ensured its destruction.

We at Cyclopunk do not believe in ghosts,
UFOs or any of that stuff. However, we
wouldn't hang around Mutianyu alone for
any length of time just in case.
(CC3.0)

As if the UFOs around the last section of wall weren't sufficient weirdness for one stage, this section is said to be haunted by the Mutianyu Phantom. A legend dating from just the late 1990s, the Phantom is said to be the ghost of a local woman killed by an explosion at the factory where she was employed making the trinkets still sold to tourists who visit the area. Her first victim was a German woman in 1997; her family reporting that the victim had mentioned seeing a woman dressed in black, with a black veil and white gloves, pointing at her several times throughout the day when they visited the Wall. Then, later in the day, the victim vanished and has  never been seen again. The next victim was another tourist named Benjamin Heffemburg - he too saw the mysterious woman in black, reporting his sightings to his family, and the next day was discovered dead in his hotel room - his body surrounded by shards of shattered glass. Several more disappearances have been blamed upon the Phantom, whom some locals now warn tourists to avoid at all costs. Since she only attacks foreigners, the locals are not afraid of her and as a result have been able to get close enough to have a better look (or have perhaps realised that there's nothing like a good ghost story to intrigue rich visitors), now explaining that her white gloves are in fact bandages and the veil hides a hideously deformed face.

The final intermediate sprint begins 13km after the summit, 167km into the race, then the peloton continue on the X009 as it becomes Huaisha Road and travels along the northern edge of Huairou Reservoir, arriving presently at a very large roundabout (40°20'7.79"N 116°37'28.62"E) where they'll turn right for Qingchun Road. Having followed it south to Nanhua Street, they turn left and follow the road around a bend to a wide bridge; taking the first left turn at the next roundabout for Huaichanglian Road and, after 1.73km, an interchange with a right turn onto Jingmi Road heading south - they'll follow this road for 13.27km through a number of further interchanges, rural areas and industrialised urban complexes until they reach the left-hand slip road leading down onto Baima Road (40°10'31.03"N 116°38'8.58"E), at which point they have 5km left.

Shunyi's entirely man-made white-water slalom course
is considered one of the most testing in the world
(© Gerry Boudens CC3.0)

Now traveling east, they soon cross Shun'an North Road with 3km left to go. The horse racing stadium passes by on the right, then Youdi Road and the Beijing Country Club golf course before the route crosses a wide bridge. The flamme rouge is on the bridge, marking the final kilometre, then the road bends very slightly right as we enter the final sprint - an last section for the sprint specialists up to the finish line by the plaza in front of the Shunyi Park (40°10'7.58"N 116°41'7.65"E).

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Tour of Britain - Stage 4 Guide

Bilingual road sign in Wales

Stage Map: click here
Stage Profile: click here
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With the current popularity of a number of Welsh bands and stars, Wales has a far larger profile on the world's stage than it has for decades at present - only two decades ago, it wasn't at all uncommon for the Welsh to have to explain patiently where and what Wales is and that no, Britain is not England. Anyone unfamiliar with the ancient land of Cymru who is visiting for the first time to watch Stage 4, meanwhile, will be in no doubt that they're in a different country: for a start, they're going to see bilingual road signs.

The Welsh language, y Gymraeg, which had all but died out by the early 20th Century due in no small part to the efforts of the British Government and teachers who banned it in schools, is flourishing today. It's taught to all children in Welsh schools and around one fifth of Welsh people speak it to near-fluency - a figure that is gradually rising. A high percentage of those speak Welsh as their first language, using it daily in the home, and in some isolated pockets it's possible to find people who speak only Welsh; sometimes knowing only a handful of English words.

y Gymraeg is an entirely different language to English, stemming from the Celtic Brythonic family (as do Cornish and Breton) whereas English is derived from the Germanic Frisian family. It predates English by a large margin, with some researchers arguing that it's in fact pre-Celtic. For an example of the difference, look at these two pages on cycling: this one's English and this one's Welsh. The letters - some of which do not exist in English - are pronounced differently too; and there are eight digraphs each with a particular pronunciation, as well as six English letters that don't appear in Welsh.

The Brecon Beacons

While the stage misses the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia - including the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland, Mount Snowdon - it takes in some of the most famous and attractive scenery the east and south of the country has to offer, including the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) National Park. With two Category 1 ascents, one Cat 3 and a wide selection of uncategorised climbs (some steep, some long, some both steep and long and uncategorised for no evident reason), Stage 4 is undoubtedly among the three contenders for the 2011 Queen Stage.

Powis Castle (© Alexander Forst-Rakoczy CC2.0)

The neutral zone begins in Welshpool (originally known simply as Pool, the named being changed to avoid confusion with the English town Poole - the Welsh avoid the problem by calling it Y Trallwng) at Powis Castle, known in Welsh as Castell Coch, a vast medieval fortress much modified in later centuries to become a grand stately home - and while there are many castles in Wales, this one is frequently top of the list of those most popular among the Welsh because, unlike the majority which were built by the English following the invasion and subjugation of Wales under the English, this one was built for a real Prince of Wales in the days when the title referred to the Welsh ruler rather than being a hereditary, ceremonial title awarded to the eldest son of the English monarch.

The neutral zone begins on the A490 just south of Welshpool and heads north onto Berriew Road into the town, turning a tight left onto Broad Street and just reaching the High Street before a tight right turn into the much narrower Jehu Street and emerging a short while later onto Brook Street. Here, the riders will turn right towards Church Bank, then left and arriving soon on Salop Road ready for another right onto Smithfield Road leading to the bridge over the river and continuing above the cattle market. The third exit at the roundabout leads onto Severn Road and the B4381, coming to a right/left/left/right section as the road follows a large U-shaped bridge over the railway. The road becomes Leighton Road on the other side, soon arriving at another bridge over another river; then a T-junction with the B4388. Right leads to Leighton and the end of the neutral zone after 7km, this being the beginning of the race, then past Cilcewydd and towards Forden. At another T-junction in Kingswood, the peloton turn left to ride along a 0.34km section of the A490 and then continue straight ahead to rejoin the B4338 heading south.

Montgomery (© Ceridwen CC2.0)

Reaching a crossroads just on the outskirts of Montgomery after 9.2km, the race turns left onto New Road; coming soon to the B4386 and a tight right turn onto Chirbury Road towards the town centre and a second tight right for the B4385. At this point, the roadbook instructs riders to follow the B4385 to Abermule - however, there's a little bit of a problem with that, because the B4385 doesn't go there: it goes in the opposite direction some 4.5km to the north-east, heading into Garthmyl. However, just before it does so there's a left turn near a level crossing which leads onto the B4386 0 which does go to Abermule. Unfortunately, this isn't the only possible route as there are various ways along unclassified roads - however, it does seem the most likely to us. Thankfully for the riders, they'll have race officials to direct them.

Having reached the roundabout on the northern edge of Abermule, the riders take the third exit (right) and come 0.29km later to a left turn at a T-junction, taking them onto the A483 towards Newtown. The first of the stage's intermediate sprints begins at the St. Giles Golf Club, then the peloton follows the same road through the town before turning left at the fifth set of traffic lights and onto Dolfor Road.

Barry Hoban (from Velorunner)

Despite its name, Newtown has a history stretching back more than 600 years to the late 13th Century when it was founded on the orders of King Edward I as part of his attempts to control the newly-conquered Welsh. It grew considerably during the Industrial Revolution, its economy being based on several textile mills; later being selected as a post-war New Town in 1967 when its population grew even more rapidly, the town soon finding itself with the largest population in Mid Wales. It's home to Barry Hoban, the professional cyclist who in 1969 became the first British rider to win two successive stages in the Tour de France - a feat not achieved by any other British cyclist until Mark Cavendish managed it forty years later in 2009.

A tight right-hander U-shaped bend carries the race away from what becomes Middle Dolfor Road ahead, following the A483 on a long stretch to Radnorshire and Llanbadarn Fynydd - this is an area largely unpopulated except for the sheep that graze on the hills and frequently wander onto the roads, and it's very beautiful. It begins to climb immediately after the turn, heading into a medium left 0.56km later, then a pair of rights 0.25km later. The first is wide, the second very tight and a potential hazard point when wet. The following 2.71km are unchallenging, ending at a ride right-handed hairpin. The land to the left of the road begins to rise rapidly and before long the road winds around the foot of a small green mountain reaching around 170m above the road. Another wide right-handed hairpin lies on the other side with some potentially tricky bends ahead, then the race reaches Llanbadarn after covering 44.7km from the end of the neutral zone.

The drinks station is located by a caravan park some 6.15km after Llanbadarn, 50.8km from the start of the race and about 0.5km before Llanbister. As space is limited by the road leading to the park, we suspect drinks will be handed out from the right side of the road here rather than the left as is more usual. A medium left bend 1.85km ahead could be very slippery due to overhanging trees. Still on the A483, the peloton pass to the right of Llanddewi Ystradenni before reaching Fron at 61.4km - not to be confused with another village near Llangollen named Froncysyllte and usually known as Fron, including on maps, since even the Welsh have trouble with that fiendish a collection of consonants.

Llandrindod Wells has some surprisingly grand buildings
(© Ann Roberts, CC2.0)

In y Groes (Crossgates), the race arrives at a roudabout and takes the second exit - straight ahead - remaining ont he same road and arriving at Llandrindod Wells 3.5km later, having now covered 66km since the race began. There would never have been any chance of the Tour missing this town because it's home to the National Cycle Collection, a museum exhibiting 250 bicycles dating from 1818 to the present. Entry is a very reasonable £3.50 per adult, free upon presentation of a valid CTC membership card, and having visited in the past we highly recommend that anyone following the Tour does so whilst in the area. Llandrindod is a surprisingly grand place with many large and ornate buildings including some fine examples of Art Deco architecture, due entirely to the supposedly health-giving qualities of the local spring water. It experienced an economic boom from 1974 when it became the capital of Powis and home to people with salaries linked to national pay grades - combined with the low living costs in the region, this led to a large percentage of the population having a large amount of disposable income and thus to the establishment of many enetertainment venues. Around the same time, it began to attract large numbers of hippies - due in part to the psychotropic mushrooms which are said to grow in huge numbers all year round in the surrounding hills. The resulting alternative and health food shops, at first opposed by locals, have become beloved features of the town. Sadly, in the last decade, the town has declined greatly. Several businesses have shut down, forcing many people out of work - which has in turn attracted large discount retailers, causing more or the independents to go out of business. Today, it has an attractive faded grandeur; but in a few years it'll be a decaying wasteland.

Llanelwedd (© CC3.0)

Having taken the second exit at the roundabout onto Tremont Road, the race reaches the Metropole Hotel 1.5km later on Temple Street, marking the start of the second intermediate sprint, and will then take the second exit from the roundabout at the end of the road to continue in the A483 to Howey, very nearly contiguous with Llandrindod. The following 8.5km are unchallenging, though the wooded sections may be slippery when wet, until the race reaches Llanelwedd where a large quarry increases the likelihood of diesel on the road, spilled by the large trucks that visit many times each day.

After a very tight right turn at Llanelwedd and a sharp deviation to the left to pass onto the A481. Across the river ;ies Builth Wells where medieval monks created the first written versions of the Mabinogion, a collection of prose stories partially derived from ancient pre-Christian myth. The castle was originally built by Edward I, later playing an important role in the Welsh Rebellions of the Middle Ages. It replaced an earlier castle in the ownership of Baron Philip de Braose, a Marcher lord who controlled land in the fiercely independent Welsh Marches which paid little heed to the laws and statutes of either England or Wales. Today, only the castle mound remains but the lay-out of the walls and buildings can still be seen (52° 8'56.91"N 3°23'54.49"W).

The race takes the first exit at the next roundabout, then turns right onto the B4567 0.6km later - the roadbook seems to have forgotten this junction, instructing to keep left which would continue on the A481. It passes Aberedw and Alltmawr before a junction with the A470 and arriving at Erwood 88.4km from the start. There's some slight confusion with the guestbook once again here - it states that the village of Erwyd lies 2.4km from Erwood. However, Erwyd is the Welsh name for Erwood, itself a derivation of the Welsh term Y Rhyd, the ford. A brief check of the gazetteer sheds no light on the existence of another village with the same name in the area. However, measuring out 2.4km along the road brings us to Trericket Mill Guest House - having some knowledge of the area, we think that the organisers have mistaken it for a village and assumed that the name Erwyd on nearby bilingual signs is the name for it. The feeding zone is located at 93.5km by a "white house on the left," presumably here: 52° 3'26.83"N 3°17'33.00"W. It ends 1.6km later, shortly before the race reaches Llyswen.

Llangoed Hall (CC2.0)

Just to the north is Llangoed Hall, a house originally built for the Williams family in 1633, subsequently passing into the hands of a family called Macnamara who lost it in 1800 during a game of cards (which, let's face it, is an extremely cool thing to do). It was much remodelled in the following years by the new owner, beginning to take on the grand shape it retains today, those lines being much developed and refined by one Archibald Christie who had the somewhat eccentric idea that his 17th Century house was actually the 9th Century White Court (or, in Welsh, llys wen) of Rhodri Mawr, King of the Britons. In 1847, Llyswen was described in a guide to the British Isles as "a miserable village." In 2008, it earned a top ten place in a poll to find the most desirable places to live in the United Kingdom.

The Tour turns right at a junction in the village to remain on the A470 and, immediately after the bend, begins the first Cat 3 climb. The end, 2.4km later, is by a gate on the left side of the road, then the route turns right at the crossroads 2.2km later. Having passed Felinfach, the peloton come to a junction with the B4602 and turn right onto it, heading towards Brecon 2km ahead.

Brecon

After leaving Brecon behind, the race once again joins the A470 and heads south-west towards the tiny village Libanus. The Cat 1 climb begins 1km after the village by a derestricted zone sign (51°54'45.90"N 3°28'20.86"W). The following 4.47km are almost straight, making the climb less technical but psychologically harsher, then the road arrives at some bends preceding the highest point 6.6km from the climb's start at the Storey Arms. A short way ahead, the race passes a reservoir on the right, turning right just past the dam onto the what the roadbook calls the B4059 - it's actually the A4059, but to be fair to them it looks like a B-classification road to anyone not familiar with Welsh mountain routes. There's a cattle grid 310m after the turn, then an 11.1km stretch to Penderyn with another cattle grid located at 139km point.

Penderyn is the home of the eponymous whisky, the only whisky legally produced in Wales for over a century (but most definitely not the only Welsh whisky. If you know someone who knows where they can get other Welsh whiskies, don't bother asking them because they won't tell you). In another few kilometres, the peloton reach a large roundabout and take the first exit for the A465, then the third exit of the next roundabout 1.4km later for the A4059 to Penywaun. The first exit at a third roundabout and second exit at a fourth leads to Aberdare. A series of roundabouts through the town leads to the Mountain Ash Comprehensive School at 155.6km from the start and the beginning of the third intermediat sprint. The first exit at a roundabout 200m later continues along the A4059 - there's a cattle grid 6km later and a large roundabout where the riders will take the second exit onto the A472 and another cattle grid 300m later.

Llancaiach Fawr, Nelson - the most haunted house in Wales
(© Ashley0690 CC3.0)

Having ridden 164.3km, the race arrives at Nelson, the location of a very beautiful 16th Century manor house named Llancaiach Fawr and once visited in person by King Charles I when he attempted - unsuccessfully, in the end - to persuade the house's owner Colonel Pritchard not to switch allegiance to the Parliamentarian side. Today, the house is famous both as a living museum depicting life at the time of Charles' visit and as the alleged most haunted house in Wales (and there are a lot of allegedly haunted houses in Wales). The riders take the third exit at a roundabout, then the second exit at the roundabout 0.6km ahead to continue on the A472. Reaching yet another roundabout, they take the third exit leading into Ystrad Mynach and a tricky left between two mini roundabouts leading to another roundabout where they'll take the second exit to remain on the same road. At the next roundabout, they take the third exit leading south along the A469 and through various roundabouts to Llanbradach and into a narrow section after 171.8m. The peloton pass straight through two more roundabouts, then arrive at Caerphilly.

The final climb - Cat 1 Caerphilly Mountain - begins at 176.6km on Castle Street near the castle and ends 2.2km later at a carpark. A short way ahead, the peloton turn right and continue on the A469 for 2.5km to another roundabout, taking the fourth exit for the B4600 Nantgawr Road and continue along it through the coming roundabout 400m later. This leads to a set of traffic lights 800m later and under the railway - a straight section permitting sprinters to get a lead over the peloton in preparation for the final section coming after the right turn onto The Crescent, a gently winding road which shouldn't slow the leaders down enough to make any difference. The finish line is 200m after the turn, 183.7km from the start of the race.

Caerphilly Castle - the largest in Wales (© Phillip Capper CC2.0)

Caerphilly's 13th Century castle is the largest in Wales and second largest in the United Kingdom, considered the finest example of early medieval concentric defences. However, even the extensive walls and moats were not enough for it to remain viable as military technology improved, and it entered a long period of neglect until 1766 when it passed into the hands of the Marquess of Bute who carried out urgent and extensive restoration work, preserving it for the nation. To display it as it would have been seen when newly built, several surrounding streets were demolished in the 1930s

Predictions: Those mountains will hurt him, but they're not big enough to prevent HTC-Highroad getting Cav to the finish ready for a final blast to the end. However, he won't have it all his own way - this stage will suit Geraint Thomas very well, and as a Welshman he'll be putting every gram of strength he has into doing well on this stage. We'll just have to wait and see whether he'll hold back and let a good place contribute to an overall GC win on Sunday or go for glory today, spending the rest of the race concentrating on putting on repeated good performances; but as the most successful Welsh rider in history, we suspect he'll want to put on a show.

Weather: While the day is predicted to be cloudy, no rain is expected. However, Wales is known for heavy rain and unpredictable weather so dry conditions are most definitely not guaranteed. It won't be hot - perhaps 13C at the higher points, 16C in the lowlands and if the sun comes out. It will be much less windy than the last few days, average wind speeds around 20kph - still enough for echelons as teams shelter one another - with gusts up to 48kph, still sufficient to cause problems so deep profile rims will be a rare sight.

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Cav quits

HTC-Highroad's Mark Cavendish abandoned the Vuelta a Espana during Stage 4 today - his reasons haven't been confirmed, but a combination heat, fatigue and dread of the enormous climb to the Sierra Nevada ski station at the end of the stage seem likely factors.

The Missile is almost as well-known for his hatred of climbing as he is for his unique skill in sprints, just avoiding disqualification on two occasions during this year's Tour de France when maximum time limits were extended in line with race rules. The Vuelta, perhaps in response to a difficult Tour and notoriously testing Giro d'Italia earlier in the season, is especially hard with several very challenging climbs this year; including the feared Alto de L'Angliru which, with some sections rated at a 24% gradient, is one of the most difficult climbs in the sport. It's arguable if a rider so specialist and suited to sprinting as Cav would even have been capable of making it to the top of Angliru. With high mountains in stages 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17, were there just too many climbs for him this year?

His unexpected decision to abandon the race leaves HTC-Highroad, racing what will almost certainly be their final Grand Tour after a new sponsor dropped out before a contract was signed, with just seven riders following Matt Goss's departure with stomach problems during Stage 2.

See also: UCI responds to riders' Vuelta concerns