Blazin' Saddles: La Vuelta 2018 – 7 key stages

Updated 21/08/2018 at 13:59 GMT

The 73rd edition of La Vuelta is a typically undulating affair with eight summit finishes, four medium mountains stages, 10 uphill finishes in total and just a sprinkling of stardust for the sprinters. With two flat time trials but no real specialists on the start list, the 3,271km route is certainly one that suits those of a climbing ilk.

72nd Tour of Spain 2017 / Stage 4 Peloton / Spanish Border / Landscape / Escaldes-Engordany - Tarragona Anella Mediterranea 2018 (198,2km)/ La Vuelta / (Photo by Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty Images)

Image credit: Eurosport

Kicking off (for the first time in nine years) with a flat 8km time trial in Malaga in the south of Spain the race should be fiercely competitive almost from the outset with a hilly uphill sprint on Stage 2 and the first Cat.1 climb in Stage 3. Stage 4 culminates with the first of eight summit finishes – and it's not until Stage 6 when the red carpet is finally rolled out for the sprinters with the first of only a handful of flat, fast finishes.

After heading west on a dog-leg to Marbella and then creeping up the coast towards San Javier via Granada, the route heads inland to the Sierra Morena and then to the ski resort of La Covatilla, west of Madrid, by the end of the opening week.

A rest day in Salamanca heralds the riders heading north through the sparsely populated Castille and Leon province before entering lush Galicia. A finish on the northernmost point of Spain at the Estaca de Bares lighthouse is followed by the race heading east into the Cantabrian mountains and the Picos de Europa range in Asturias.

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After a brief foray into the Basque region following the second rest day at Santander, the race enters Catalonia and Andorra for two stages in the Pyrenees before a transfer towards Madrid head of the traditional city centre laps of the capital.

Reigning champion Chris Froome will not return to defend his crown leaving the door open for a first-time winner, what with three other previous winners – Nairo Quintana, Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali – all struggling for form or fitness. Alberto Contador may be ruing his retirement…

Chris Froome in the red jersey of La Vuelta

Image credit: Getty Images

With the race less than a week away, it's time to look at some of the key stages that should decide who emerges from another tough edition of the Vuelta with the red jersey on his back.

Stage 4: Velez-Malaga to Alfacar (161.4km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 4 profile

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It's adiós to the Costa del Sol with this first summit showdown of the race in the Sierra de la Alfaguara, culminating with a 12.4km climb that includes a double-digit section in the middle of an otherwise gentle climb of 5.4%. First up is the Alto de la Cabra Montes – quite literally, the climb of the mountain goats. Again, it's not exactly a bleating beast (boasting an average gradient below 6%) but it's almost 16km long and could force an early selection.

There are many harder stages in this year's Vuelta but this first mountain-top finale comes early in the race and yet still precedes the first flat bunch sprint. As such, there may already be some contenders who have yet got their engines purring as opportunists seek to eke out an early advantage to put their rivals under pressure. As such, Stage 4 is the typical you-can't-win-the-race-here-but-you-could-lose-it affair.

Stage 9: Talavera de la Reina to La Covatilla (200.8km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 9 profile

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After a trio of stages that could play into the hands of wily breakaway specialists – but could also just as easily come down to bunch or reduced sprints – we get the second GC showdown of the race ahead of the opening rest day. The second longest stage of the race kicks off with three successive categorised climbs in the opening half before a long descent and some rolling roads ahead of the finale.

The 10km deciding climb of the ski resort of La Covatilla – where Dan Martin beat Bauke Mollema in 2011 – has an average gradient of 7.1% but starts gently and finishes on the flat; in between, there are multiple double-digit ramps which will show up the poor legs of those lacking form or bite.

Stage 13: Candas to La Camperona (175.5km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 13 profile

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After a few days in Galicia the race enters Asturias for a trio of mountain stages that should separate the Vuelta wheat from the last-chance saloon chaff. Besides a couple of short downhill dips, the first 90km of Stage 14 gradually heads uphill until the Puerto de Tarna, which is easy enough but a mere hors d'oeuvre to the savage main course.

The Alto de la Camperona is only 8.3km long and starts with two steps before the steep stuff climaxes with a brutal 19.5% spurt near the finish. It's one of those crazy climbs you only associate with the Vuelta – and one which could prove punishing for anyone but the best.

Previous winners here on the Cantabrian peak are Ryder Hesjedal (2014) and, on the day Nairo Quintana rode into red, Sergey Lagutin (2016). Mistime your kick on the final climb – as Alejandro Valverde did in 2014 – and the consequences could be dire.

Stage 14: Cistierna to Les Praeres de Nava (171km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 14 profile

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There's no rest for the wicked as a succession of tough climbs is followed by the race's first ever finish at Praeres de Nava – a narrow, twisting, steep climb very much in the goat-track tradition. The tortuous final slog is only 4km long but hits 17% at the half-way point ahead of a short ledge before the last rise to the line.

Overall, an average gradient of 13.5% after such a draining 165km lead-in could well cause chaos. Oh, and the two other Cat.1 climbs that precede the finale also hit double figures. Shudder.

Stage 15: Ribera de Arriba to Lagos de Covadonga (178.2km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 15 profile

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Riders who have managed to grit their teeth and hold over the last two stages may be undone in the final phase of the Asturias-Leon triptych. In what will be deemed the queen stage by the purists, the traditional finish at Lagos de Covadonga is preceded by some hilly roads and a dual ascent of the Cat.1 Mirador del Fito climb (7.1km at 7.7%).

If some climbs mirror Ringo Starr's sense of rhythm, Lagos de Covadonga is not one of them. Since being unveiled in 1983, the iconic summit finish is to the Vuelta what Alpe d'Huez is to the Tour. The first two-thirds average well over 10% before a series of steps break up the climb as it nears the summit and passes the famous lakes of its name. After a downhill dip in the final kilometre there follows a final rise to the line – where Quintana won most recently in 2016.

Now fewer than eight climbs – categorised or otherwise – precede the stage showdown, contributing to a total of 4,000m of climbing, meaning Stage 14 could put pressure on many of the remaining sprinters to make the cut. On the eve of the second rest day, it could also provide the final nail in the GC coffin for many red jersey pretenders.

Stage 17: Getxo to Balcon de Bizkaia (157km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 17 profile

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Off the back of the second rest day and the flat 32km individual time trial, this Basque bonanza boasts a quintessential surf-n-turf Vuelta route with tough climbs, inland loops and city-to-summit-to-sea views over the Bay of Biscay. Starting in Getxo, the hometown of Team Sky's Jonathan Castroviejo, the route starts with a circuit around Bilbao before a stunning approach to the coast and a picturesque seaside segment.

Five lower-category climbs pepper the stage – including the first ascent of the Alto del Balcon de Bizkaia (with a max gradient of 24%) – ahead of the final test. This test is in fact the reverse side of the Alto del Balcon de Bizkaia, tackled earlier going downhill, so the riders will be familiar of its challenges – until it continues on a narrow, corrugated concrete track of 18% up Monte Oiz, stopping short 100m below the summit.

Covered with antenna and wind turbines, Monte Oiz is one of the mythical 'Hornblower Mountains' and the site of a horrific plane crash in 1985 when a flight came down between Madrid and Bilbao, killing all 148 people on board.

Stage 20: Escaldes-Engordany to Coll de la Gallina (97.3km)

La Vuelta 2018 stage 20 profile

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The penultimate stage of the race is the second part of the Andorran climax to the Vuelta and comes after the previous summit showdown on the Coll de la Rabassa at 2,025m. While this lacks the mythical punch of the stage to Lagos de Covadonga, a succession of five peaks (including two ascents of the Cat.1 Coll de Beixalis) ahead of the final Especial (HC) climb of the Coll de la Gallina bolster its queen-stage credentials.

Just under 100km in length but boasting 4,000m of vertical ascent, Stage 20 could well decide the outcome of the 2018 Vuelta – and it could well come down to the final climb of the race. Renowned for its double-digit switchbacks near the summit, the Coll de la Gallina is deemed the hardest uphill test in Andorra. And even if the official climb is only 3.5km long to get to the Santuario de Canolich, the actual length is double that and the gradient is consistently around 10%.

Only recently paved, the climb to Gallina was used in Stage 11 in 2015 before the summit finish at Cortals d'Encamp, where Spain's Mikel Landa won for Astana in what was dubbed the "hardest-ever Grand Tour stage" by Movistar manager Eusebio Unzue. Well, this one could give it a run for its money.

Mikel Landa of Astana wins a stage in the Vuelta

Image credit: Imago

Twice used as a finish before, the Coll de la Gallina has played host to victories for Valverde in 2012 and Daniele Ratto in 2013, when Chris Horner and Vincenzo Nibali confirmed it was a two-horse race. Although it's worth mentioning that this year the riders stop short of the summit.

"Gallina is the hardest single ascent in Andorra," says former rider Joaquim Rodriguez, who now works as an advisor for Bahrain Merida. "But where they've decided to finish the stage is not quite so difficult. It could be even worse if they went right to the top of the climb."

So, who is going to win the 2018 Vuelta?

As usual, the main contenders are drawn from a list of those riders who tackled the Giro earlier in the season, and others who crashed out of – or disappointed in – the Tour.

Australia's Richie Porte tops the list of favourites alongside Colombians Miguel Angel Lopez, Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Uran. British duo Simon and Adam Yates feature in a rare foray together while Thibaut Pinot takes to the start for only the second race since illness knocked him out of the Giro.

Richie Porte (BMC) is among the favourites after his Tour crash

Image credit: Getty Images

Outsiders include Vincenzo Nibali, who wears bib number one but whose form is unknown after breaking a bone in his back on Alpe d'Huez during the Tour, and the Dutch trio of Wilco Kelderman, Bauke Mollema and Steven Kruijwijk. Following his superb fifth place in support of Primoz Roglic in the Tour, the latter may be doing a similar job for the New Zealander George Bennett at LottoNL-Jumbo.

UAE Team Emirates duo Fabio Aru and Dan Martin are tipped to start the race, as are Bora-Hansgrohe pair Emanuel Buchmann and Davide Formolo. Supporting Quintana at Movistar, veteran Spaniard Alejandro Valverde will ride alongside the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who finished a solid fourth place in the Giro.

Italy's rider of team UAE emirates Fabio Aru reacts after crossing the finish line of the 9th stage between Pesco Sannita and the Gran Sasso during the 101st Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, on May 13, 2018.

Image credit: Getty Images

In the absence of a bona fide GC man, Team Sky's hopes will fall with David de la Cruz and British debutant Tao Geoghegan Hart. Other outside tips include South African Louis Meintjes, the Canadian Michael Woods and the Russian Ilnur Zakarin, while the veteran Spaniard Sergio Pardilla will fly the flag for minnows Caja-Rural.

A full preview of the main red jersey contenders will be published later in the week ahead of Saturday's opening ITT.

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