Cercedilla – Madrid
Distance: 111.9km
Highest point: 82m
Category: Flat
The final flourish
The Vuelta finishes in traditional fashion with a straightforward stage into the centre of the Spanish capital. It starts in the mountains to the north of the city and runs steadily down into Madrid. Once in the capital, the action will quicken up considerably as the riders tackle 10 laps of a 5.7km finishing circuit based on the Plaza de Cibeles on the Paseo del Prado. Expect lots of attacks, counters and high-speed pursuits culminating in a bunch sprint. Famed for its fountain where Real Madrid fans celebrate their team’s successes, Plaza de Cibeles is a fitting place for the coronation of the 67th Vuelta champion.
Bingen Fernández: "There will be a festival atmosphere in the bunch today. This won’t be fast to start with because it’s the last day. Once the riders are on the Castellana they will really start racing and it’s sure to be a big sprint finish."
-
'No reason to panic' – Remco Evenepoel drops down Volta a Catalunya standings as Florian Lipowitz closes in on podium
Belgian says 'I've felt worse two days after a fall' as tactics favour his German teammate -
'Today I lost a life for sure' - Tom Pidcock 'OK' after crashing into a ravine in the Volta a Catalunya out of sight of race
'I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there,' says Briton, bolstering UCI case for GPS tracking -
'I gave up, actually, because they were so close' – Mathieu van der Poel made to look human despite completing E3 Saxo Classic hat-trick with 'one of my best efforts'
Dutchman talks through 63km solo win after chasing quartet fumbled the catch in the final kilometres of a dramatic edition -
'It's not up to us' or 'there is no more time to gamble'? How big teams in the peloton failed to chase down Mathieu van der Poel in E3 Saxo Classic
Peloton was at one point only 30 seconds behind solo Dutchman, with numbers for many teams, but directors from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek disagree on where chasing responsibility lies
