Monday is a day off for the riders at La Vuelta a España, but the racing resumes on Tuesday.
Stage 10 takes the peloton from the Sendaviva theme park north to the French border, finishing at Larra-Belagua.
At 175 km, it starts gently enough. However, the final 9-km climb at over six per cent will be a sharp wake-up after a day off.
Some riders don’t actually enjoy a rest day as they say they sometimes have cobwebs in their legs at the start. “Some guys do two hours, some ride tempo, some don’t ride at all. I usually do an hour or an hour and a half,” Alex Cataford said at the 2022 Giro d’Italia. “I’ll put in some efforts for five minutes, but I don’t go too crazy.”
Every cyclist has a different strategy—some do a very short ride, some a longer one with some efforts to keep sharp.
Derek Gee even attacks on the rest days at the Giro d’Italia
The next day, Stage 11 loops through Bilbao. Just 157 km, it’s a relentless Basque test with seven categorized climbs.
The Alto del Vivero, tackled twice, and the savage Alto de Pike — two km at nearly 10 per cent — could tear the race apart before the sprint into the city centre.
Stage 12 is a lumpy day from Laredo to Los Corrales de Buelna (144.9 km) with two climbs, a cat 2 and 1, and a finishing circuit.
It could be a day for a break or sprinter—the GC men will most likely play it cool. Especially because Friday will be a doozy.
By Friday, Stage 13 unleashes the Angliru. After a long flat run, the road rises through Mozqueta and Cordal before the 13-km monster that averages nearly 10 per cent. The Angliru has humbled champions in the past, and will likely define this year’s race again. Look for Jonas Vingegaard to go nuclear.
The punishment doesn’t stop there. Stage 14 heads to La Farrapona, a 136-km mountain gauntlet with almost 4,000 m of climbing. Riders face the steep San Lorenzo and Tenebreo. Then, a summit finish where the last 5 km average 10 per cent.
You can watch all of these stages on FloBikes.com. And after every single one, check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a report and analysis.
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