September 7, Stage 15: Oviedo - Lagos de Covadonga 152.2km
Stage preview
After starting in Oviedo, the home city of 2008 Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez and Spanish climbing legend José Manuel Fuente, the course bumps along the rugged and beautiful Asturian coast before turning south towards one of the most famous climbs in Spanish cycling. First tackled in 1983, Covadonga last featured in 2012 when Caja Rural's Antonio Piedra completely justified his small team's wild card invite by winning the stage. None of this edition's star names has ever won there, so it will be interesting to see how they tackle it bearing in mind a much tougher mountain stage lies just ahead.
The gaps between the big guns weren't very significant back in 2012. We'd expect that to be the case again today.
Sean Kelly says: "Covadonga is a difficult climb, especially on such a short stage when everyone will be going flat out from the start. That will make it very nervous. The road used to be shocking and although it's better now, this stage could still prove decisive."
Copyright: lavuelta.com
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Decluttering mass starts, rewarding podium riders top changes to 2024 Life Time Grand Prix
Life Time marketing director talks about creating 'fandom' for cycling with more real-time race content, but live streaming on hold -
Flèche Wallonne winner Kasia Niewiadoma: 'I hope people will be inspired'
Polish rider takes her first Classics win in five years on Mur de Huy -
Mattias Skjelmose hit by hypothermia as only 44 men finish wet and cold La Flèche Wallonne
Lidl-Trek rider recovers quickly as Uno-X impress in terrible conditions, while Gaia Realini suffers in women's race -
As it happened: Kasia Niewiadoma breaks streak to take first victory since 2019 at La Flèche Wallonne Fèminine
Canyon//SRAM rider got the better of Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini on the Mur de Huy