Vuelta 2020 Route stage 12: Pola Laviana

Vuelta 2020 Route stage 12: Pola Laviana - Angliru

Sunday 1 November - The 12th stage of the Vuelta a España is bound to bring spectacle. At 109.4 kilometres, the route takes in four intermediate climbs to finish uphill atop the iconic Angliru. The 12.4 kilometres ascent slopes at 9.9%.

The first two climbs are perfect to stretch the legs. The Alto del Padrún and Alto de San Emiliano are both relatively easy. The first one is 3 kilometres long and slopes at 6.6%, while the second is a 5.8 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 4.9%.

The riders are halfway when the Alto de Mozqueta appears, which is an ascent of 6.6 kilometres at 8.4% with an extra steep first part. Following a long downhill and a section through the valley the Alto de Cordal serves as a kind of prelude to the Angliru. The 5.4 kilometres climb is extremely irregular with several sections exceeding 13%, while the average gradient sits at 9.3%.

The Alto de El Angliru is the stuff of legends. La Vuelta last visited the climb in 2017, which was the last mountain stage of tireless attacker Alberto Contador. In fact it was the penultimate race of that edition. El Pistolero had been on the attack for three weeks without winning.

Of course the Spaniard gave it a last shot. He gobbled up the breakaway and served the world a mesmerizing finale. Alberto Contador climbed to victory ahead of Wout Poels and Chris Froome, who won the Spanish Grand Tour for the first time in his career. But the news of the day was that El Pistolero bade farewell to the mountains with a great salute!

The Angliru is 12.4 kilometres long, but actually there are three Angliru’s. The first 5 kilometres go up at 8% and following a relatively flat kilometre the uphill horror really kicks in. The second half of the climb is cursed/blessed with an average gradient of 15%. Riders face the steepest sector of 23.5% – aptly named Cueña les Cabres (goat path) – with 3 kilometres remaining.

The intermediate sprint – at kilometre 77 – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while the first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Other interesting reads:
– results 12th stage 2020 Vuelta a España
– KOM classification
– points classification