With nearly 3,000m of accumulated climbing and a tough summit finish, stage 2 will provide the first chance for the fans to see the GC favorites reveal their intentions and show their form. Before reaching the race’s first difficulties, the course winds through Temecula’s wine region.
After 80 kilometres the route reaches Hemet and onto the 20km, 884m climb towards Idyllwild. A 24km, 1,220m drop brings the peloton into the Coachella Valley. The stretch to the summit finish could be ridden into a very stiff headwind, while the final ascent features a 6.4km, 580m climb averaging 9.7 per cent, the last half-mile at over 14 per cent.
With potential temperatures of around 38°C, a real epic is possible. Road signs warn drivers to turn off their air conditioning to avoid overheating as they climb. The contenders for the overall race title won’t have that same decision to make.
-
'A wild day of racing' – First pro race in Europe and a bunny-hop enabled first podium for New Zealand's Ben Oliver at Vuelta a Andalucía
The mountain biker who turned pro on the road with Modern Adventure Pro Cycling claims third in sprint finish on opening stage of five-day race -
How Remco Evenepoel's missed chance at landing a statement performance on brutal UAE Tour climb makes the next races more essential in his Tour de France build-up – Analysis
Belgian loses big time and momentum from early-season victories after getting dropped on the first mountain test of the stage race -
Four French ProTeams among selection of 21 squads set to race fifth edition of Tour de France Femmes
Field includes all 14 WorldTour and seven second-tier squads for August 1-9 competition -
As it happened: opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve decided by messy bunch sprint
The peloton race 185.6km from Vila Real de Santo António to Tavira
