The Vuelta a España does what the Tour de France refuses -- offer fans a mountainous romp in the first week of the race. The Lagos de Covadonga has been used 15 times in the history of the Vuelta and its appearance in stage four will likely see the Maillot Oro changes hands with a battle up its 12.6-kilometres road. The riders will face an average gradient of 7.3% with a section of over 13% for half a kilometre.
Marino Lejarreta first won here in 1983 and he was followed over the years by a list of greats; Dietzen, Delgado (2 times), Robert Millar, Lucho Herrera (2 times), Pino, Oliveiro Rincón, Jalabert (2 times), Tonkov, Zintchenko and Eladio Jiménez have all topped this peak in Asturia first.
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