All against Enric Mas in Calar Alto

Andalusia receives the platoon of The Return with a stage of maximum demand. A day of 166.6 kilometers starting in Vera and arriving in Calar Alto. The cyclists will start practically at sea level and will finish at 2,140 meters above sea level, after ascending a total of five passes and overcoming 4,500 meters of accumulated elevation gain. The final chain of the Alto de Velefique (1st) and Calar Alto (1st) is presented as an ideal scenario for the favorites to make a difference.

It will be a litmus test for Enric Maswho leads the general classification with 1:18 advantage over Primoz Roglic. They both know well the roads they will ride on today. In 2021 they measured their strength in the ninth stage of the Spanish round, which ended in Alto de Velefique. On that occasion, Roglic withstood the attacks of the Balearic Islands to keep a red jersey that he would keep until Santiago, where he won his third Vuelta, of the four he currently has in his record.

Today, the corridor of Red Bull-Bora He will have to go on the attack if he wants to reduce the disadvantage with Mas. The hardness of the race and the passage of days can work in his favor, after he arrived just in shape at the start of the Vuelta after recovering at the last minute from the accident he suffered in July. But it won’t be easy. Mas has a great opportunity to win his first grand tour. The abandonment of Tadej Pogacar It allowed him to rise to first place overall and since then his feelings have been very good. Far from settling for defending his income, he went on the attack in Alto de Aitana, where he won brilliantly. The Spaniard cannot speculate on his advantage and must try to extend it as much as possible ahead of the time trial in the third week. The key will be knowing if Roglic manages to isolate Mas on the Velefique ramps and force him to defend alone.

You will also have something to say Felix Gall (Decathlon). At 2:20 behind Mas, the Austrian is a pure climber who offers his best version the harder the road gets. Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos), fourth at 2:20, and Richard Carapaz (EF Education), fifth at 3:26, will also try to take advantage of the toughness of the stage to get closer to the podium.

The demanding ramps of Velefique (13 km at 7.2%) are conducive to trying to break the race there and sentence in Calar Alto (17 km at 5.6%), where the altitude, at 2,140 meters, can become a decisive factor. Before, the runners will have ascended Alto del Cabecico (8 km at 3.3%), Alto de Cóbdar (9 km at 4.5%) and Collado García (19 km at 2.4%).

The last time La Vuelta finished on the Calar Alto peak was on August 30, 2017. That day the Colombian from Astana, Miguel Ángel López, won.