Preview: What you need to know about stage 20 of the Vuelta a España
Preview: What you need to know about stage 20 of the Vuelta a España
Date: Saturday September 4
Start: Sanxenxo
Finish: Mos. Castro de Herville
Distance: 202.2 km
An intriguing final road stage. This isn’t a big mountain stage but rather what the Vuelta’s technical director Fernando Escartín calls a “mini Classic”. After an easy start, the second half is all up and down.
There are five “short but tough mountain passes” for the riders to conquer, including the Alto Castro de Herville (9.7 km at 4.8%) which concludes the stage. This is a stage reminiscent of Il Lombardia and it should make for some interesting racing.
Who’s it for: Probably a breakaway.
Dane Cash’s picks: While none of the five categorized climbs are all that intimidating individually, all told they will make it tough for anyone without strong climbing legs to shine on this stage. I like the chances of riders like Michael Storer, Romain Bardet, and Damiano Caruso from the break. If it comes down to the GC riders, however, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Primož Roglič nab the win in the red jersey.
