Stage 11: ElPozo Alimentación – Cabo de Gata
Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Distance: 191.2km
Stage timing: 14:40-17:30 CET
Stage type: Flat
In a Vuelta light on sprint opportunities, the fast men are unlikely to let this chance pass them by. The stage gets underway from Alhama de Murcia, or more accurately, from the ElPozo Alimentación factory on the outskirts of town.
The Vuelta’s nod to the producer of fresh, processed and cured meats is part of a grand tradition of honouring sponsors on the race route. In 1996, for instance, the DYC whiskey distillery near Segovia hosted two successive stage finishes in the final week.
The race’s fleeting visit to Murcia will also form part of Alejandro Valverde’s long goodbye to the Vuelta and to professional cycling, even if the terrain is not suited to the local favourite’s talents.
Instead, the largely flat run into neighbouring Almeria is tailored expressly for the sprinters. Although there are some undulations on the long road south, a bunch sprint seems inevitable in Cabo de Gata, which is perched on Andalucia’s wildest and most isolated stretch of coastline.
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