Vuelta 2017 Favourites stage 20: Demolition workers on the Angliru

The second half of the Angliru is madness on wheels. From the seventh kilometre onwards the climb is averaging 15% with steepest sectors of more than 20% before the last kilometre flattens out.

Stage 20 of the Vuelta a España comes down to the last 50 kilometres when the riders face three steep climbs in a row. The Cobertoria is 8.1 kilometres at 8.6% (crested with 38 kilometres left), the Cordal is 5.7 kilometres at 8.6% (crested with 21.1 kilometres left) and the Angliru is 12.5 kilometres at 9.8%. No valleys in between, so it really is a war of attrition.

Four years ago Kenny Elissonde took the win on the Angliru. The French pocket climber brought an early break home – will we see a likewise scenario unfold this year? Or is it going to be a clash of the GC contenders?

The 17th stage took in an equally cruel finish and Nibali put huge pressure on Froome. The red jersey lost 42 seconds to the Shark of Messina, while Contador put on a brave show.

Favourites 20th stage 2017 Vuelta

*** Miguel Ángel López, Alberto Contador, Rafal Majka, Vincenzo Nibali
** Ilnur Zakarin, Romain Bardet, Chris Froome, Wilco Kelderman
* Wout Poels, Esteban Chaves, Jan Polanc, Michael Woods, Steven Kruijswijk

Vuelta 2017 stage 20: Route maps, height profiles, and more

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All stages

Schema and map

Route and profile 20th stage

Profile 20th stage

Climb details Alto de la Cobertoria

Climb details Alto del Cordal

Climb details Alto de l’Angliru

Final kilometres

Scheduled times 20th stage

Details start 20th stage

Route 20th stage

Details finish 20th stage

Route and profile final 50 km

Corvera and Angliru at Google Maps