Stage 17 preview
Faustino V - Peña Cabarga
The last uphill finish
The race’s final summit finish returns to the mountain overlooking the bay city of Santander. Last year Euskaltel’s Igor Antón crashed out of the race on route to this summit when in the leader’s red jersey and Joaquim Rodríguez took the stage on the Peña Cabarga. This is a longish stage with a couple of testing climbs before the final summit, where the red jersey should be decided. Although the final climb measures just 5.9km, it is steep enough for there to be decent gaps between the main contenders. If the GC is tight going into this stage, those final 5.9km will be very interesting.
Vuelta flashback 1979, Peña Cabarga performance lets Zoetemelk take control
Winner of the mountains title back in 1971, Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk had his focus on the overall prize when he returned in 1979. Belgians Michel Pollentier and Lucien Van Impe were billed as his main rivals after he had taken the lead by winning the prologue. However, when Zoetemelk lost the lead on stage 6, it was to his Miko team-mate Christian Levavasseur. He kept the jersey for over a week but ceded it back to his team leader on the Vuelta’s first encounter with the Peña Cabarga, where Spain’s Angel López del Alamo won. Zoetemelk held firm to win overall.
Details
Distance: 211.0km
Highest point: 1,330m
Category: Mountains
Igor Antón says...
"This is a very beautiful and explosive finish. The final ramps are very hard although the gaps will not be that big. Everyone will have to keep an eye on any potential attacks on the climbs before the stage’s final climb."
Map
Profile
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Amazon Prime Day 2025 Live: The best savings for cyclists on day two of the sale
From finding best-ever prices on Garmin Edge computers to snagging stunning savings on brilliant Camelbak bottles, our deals experts have been busy on day two of the sales -
'This win is revenge for last Saturday' - Remco Evenepoel back in Tour de France contention after superb time trial victory and GC time gains
'I'm one step closer to the final podium' - Belgian says after overcoming 'bad start' to Tour de France -
'I don't have an explanation' – Visma left without answers as Jonas Vingegaard suffers heavy defeat in Tour de France time trial
'Luckily, the Tour is long' says Dane as he tries to remain upbeat despite new 1:13 deficit to close rival -
'No legs left, but still had heart and lungs' - Young Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin lights up Tour de France time trial on home roads, moves to third overall
'All those fans, all that support...I'm in heaven' says Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider who grew up near Caen