Movistar team manager Eusebio Unzué described this as the toughest Vuelta stage that he has seen in more than 30 years.
As the man behind this epic challenge, Andorra resident Joaquim Rodríguez’s popularity could take a serious hit as he and his peers take on six categorised climbs within the Pyrenean principality. Crammed into just 138km, the climbing begins immediately on the Beixalis. Of the next four passes, the most brutal is the Collada de la Gallina, which will be reached via a newly surfaced road that averages 8.5 per cent over 12km with ramps of up to 18 per cent.
Javier Guillén (race director):
"This is possibly the hardest stage we have ever put together in terms of the amount of climbing involved. It’s only 130km long although I know Rodríguez would have liked it to be longer. The race needs epic stages like this but obviously we can’t have 21 of them. We have to feature them sparingly."
The text in this preview originally appeared in the September edition of Procycling magazine.
-
Now-retired Franck Bonnamour banned for four years due to an 'unexplained abnormality' in Athlete Biological Passport
French cyclist's ban to span from February 5, 2024, to February 4, 2028 -
'I'm not done with the Tour' - Mads Pedersen completes alternative 2025 season at Vuelta a España before returning to the Tour de France
'I'm ready for the next three weeks' - Dane to target Vuelta stages points jersey and share Lidl-Trek leadership with Giulio Ciccone -
'Jonas is the favourite' - UAE Team Emirates GC duo João Almeida and Juan Ayuso point to Vingegaard as top name for Vuelta a España victory
In Tadej Pogačar's absence, Spaniard and Portuguese racers joint leaders for squad -
Safety in the spotlight: Are the UCI's new rules doing more harm than good?
2025 has seen the UCI introduce and propose a number of changes aimed at making professional cycling safer, but many of their ideas have attracted major backlash. Cyclingnews investigates the initiatives and issues at play to see if the UCI is looking in the right places…
