Vuelta a España stage 12 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 12 of the Vuelta a España as the race runs into November and the peloton take on the fearsome climb of the Alto de l'Angliru for the first time since 2017.

The riders will set off to begin the stage in around 40 minutes.

It's only 109km of racing but Vuelta organisers have packed four classified climbs – including two first category climbs – before the riders take on the Angliru.

The Alto del Padrún (3km at 6.6 per cent), Alto de Santo Emiliano (5.8km at 4.9 per cent), Alto de la Mozqueta (6.6km at 8.4 per cent) and the Alto del Cordal (5.4km at 9.3 per cen) all lie in wait before the day's finale.

Then there's the Angliru. Here's a look at the climb with Pedro Delgado and Samuel Sánchez from a few years ago.

Here's the climb profile, featuring some of the most brutal gradients in the pro cycling world. It's 12.4km long at an average of 9.9 per cent but that understates it if anything, given the final 6km are all double-digit gradients with figures reaching into the 20s.

Check out our preview of today's stage here

The Angliru has been raced seven times at the Vuelta before. It made its debut back in 1999, when José María Jiménez caught Pavel Tonkov before beating him to the line. Gilberto Simoni won a year later, while Roberto Heras triumphed on the famous  rain-soaked stage in 2002 – the day which saw David Millar quit the race on the finish line in protest.

Alberto Contador won on the next ascent of the climb, six years later, en route to his first Vuelta victory while Juan José Cobo took a stunning win in 2011, before his Vuelta victory was later taken away.

Kenny Elissonde won the stage in 2013 as Chris Horner sealed his overall victory, while the 2017 ascent saw Contador win once again on the penultimate race day of his illustrious career.

The Angliru isn't a mountain pass and doesn't lead up to a town, ski station or telecommunications tower either. There's nothing at the top but a big empty space. 

The road to the top, which was paved specifically for the climb's inclusion in the 1999 Vuelta, is only there in the first place for farmers to take up to graze livestock.

The riders are currently in the neutralised zone and are riding to the real start.

Here's our report on stage 20 of the 2017 Vuelta, the last time the race tackled the climb. 

And here's what Chris Froome had to say on the climb.

"When you say Angliru, I just think of relentless pitches. It's savage, especially in some of the switchbacks you're looking at over 25 per cent in places.

"The TV cameras really don't do it justice. You have to be on a bike trying to get up those slopes to feel what it's like.

"You do have the gearing, especially these days, but quite often about the Angliru it's the racing leaeding up to – it's always in the third week of the Vuelta. Even the climbs beefore Angliru, they're not easy climbs. By the time you get there the legs are tired already. Then you get to the foot of the Angliru, some of the GC guys are going to push on. When you're a GC rider following those attacks, you really see the race split to pieces.

"It's just one of those climbs where you've got absolutely nowhere to hide."

NTT rider Carlos Barbero is prepared for his Angliru debut...

109km to go

Now the riders have taken the real start and racing is on!

Small groups are attempting to get away but nothing is established yet. The peloton is lined out.

104km to go

Anthony Roux (Groupama-FDJ) and Julius van den Berg (EF Pro Cycling) have a small gap.

More riders are trying to get across, of course.

A larger group are pursuing the two leaders, but the peloton is close behind.

Guillaume Martin – unsurprisingly – is among the group pushing on. Their advantage over the peloton is increasing a little, but the peloton is still trying to close them down.

90km to go

The group has around 15-20 riders in it. Jumbo-Visma and Movistar are at the front of the peloton.

The group is with Roux and Van den Berg now, but the peloton isn't far behind.

Here's the break: Mattia Cattaneo, Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Nans Peters (AG2R La Mondiale), Aleksandr Riabushenko (UAE Team Emirates), Luis León Sánchez (Astana), Andreas Schilling (Bora-Hansgrohe), Cameron Wurf (Ineos Grenadiers), Robert Stannard, Alex Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott), Anthony Roux (Groupama-FDJ), Lukasz Wisniowki (CCC Team), Kobe Goossens, Tosh Van Der Sande (Lotto Soudal), Guillaume Martin, Pierre-Luc Périchon (Cofidis), Enrico Gasparotto (NTT Pro Cycling), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Jhojan García (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Ángel Madrazo, Juan Osorio (Burgos-BH)

Jasper Philipsen, Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) and Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto Soudal) are chasing.

82km to go

1:45 back to the peloton as the break ride up the third-category Alto del Padrún.

Formolo and Marczynski have left Philipsen behind on the climb. No time gap between them and the main break, though.

Martin grabs the three points on offer over the top of the climb.

Osorio and Gasparotto are back with Formolo and Marczynski now after being dropped on the climb. 55 seconds between the groups.

Martin now has 53 KOM points after that climb. He leads the classification by 29 points.

70km to go

1:15 to the Formolo group. 2:30 to the peloton. It'll be a tough ask for the group to get across.

More climbing for the break now as they hit the third-category climb of the Alto de San Emiliano.

Jumbo-Visma continue the set the pace on the front of the peloton. They're not letting the gap grow to more than 2:30 here.

62km to go

Another three points for Martin over the top of the climb. Two first-category climbs up next on the road to the Angliru.

García crashes in the break but he's quickly back up and running. 

Formolo and Marczynski have made it across to the first group now,

56km to go

The break reaches the Alto de Mozqueta (6.6km at 8.4 per cent).

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David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) and Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) have jumped away from the peloton on the climb.

54km to go

Thymen Arensman (Sunweb) and Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) have gone with them.

Movistar are at the front of the peloton at the moment.

Oliveira has dropped back from that move after putting in his work. Meanwhile, García drops from the break.

Chaves is dropped, too.

50km to go

The break is 2km from the top of the climb and the peloton is within two minutes.

Here's a look at the break of the day.

Movistar have really pushed on here. Riders have dropped out the rear of the peloton and they've brought the gap down to 1:15.

44km to go

Erviti has dropped back from the break to help, while Martin took 10 points at the top of the climb.

Formolo hits the deck on the descent, losing his rear wheel on a corner. He's back up and running, though.

Ineos' Andrey Amador has also crashed on the descent. He'll work to get back to the peloton and is joined by several dropped riders as he gets going again.

Roux, Périchon, Martin and Madrazo have pushed on down the descent, leaving the rest of the break behind.

37km to go

The gap is down to just over a minute now. 10km to go to the base of the day's penultimate climb.

20 seconds between the four leaders and the rest of the break.

Martin will just be looking to get to the top of the Alto del Cordal and grab another 10 KOM points.

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28km to go

Just 40 seconds between peloton and the break now as they ride through the valley. The leaders are back with the main break.

Here's the next climb, averaging 9.3 per cent over 5.4km like a mini-Angliru. It's the Alro del Cordal and the break have just started to climb it.

It'll take some effort for Martin to grab the points at the top. Movistar are pushing on in the peloton and the gap is down to 30 seconds.

And now the gap is out to 45 seconds. Not the most accurate timing, then.

Sánchez and Cattaneo have pushed on in the break, with Martin chasing. The break is in pieces.

25km to go

3.5km of the climb left and the two leaders are 10 seconds up on Martin. The peloton is now supposedly 55 seconds down. They're bringing back multiple men from the break, though.

Now Chaves is dropped from the peloton. Movistar continue to put in work.

Cattaneo and Sánchez continue to lead, just five seconds up on Martin. They're 2km from the top.

Now Martin is back at the front. He can bid for 10 points at the top again, then.

22km to go

Froome hits the front for Ineos with Carapaz on his wheel.

Froome and Carapaz have split from the peloton! Just a small gap as Jumbo-Visma work to close it down.

This is the strongest Froome has looked since he came back to racing. Riders dropping from the group left, right and centre.

The peloton looks to only be around 20 riders on these steep slopes towards the top of the climb. 30 seconds to the lead trio.

Martin takes the points over the top, no problem. 76 for him in total now, a full 52 up on second placed Sepp Kuss.

20km to go

Marc Soler (Movistar) is off the back of the peloton as Jumbo-Visma take control at the top of the climb.

The Angliru looms...

16km to go

25 seconds between the break and the peloton and another 20 back to Soler.

Here's another look at the Angliru. Brutal. 2km to the start of the climb.

And the break has started the Angliru! Here we go...

There are some hard ramps early on but the real tough stuff begins after 5.5km of the climb.

Gesink sets the pace for Jumbo-Visma ahead of Kuss, Vingegaard, Bennett and Roglič.

11km to go

Cattaneo is caught by the peloton. 13 seconds to the two remaining leaders.

...and it's over for them. The Jumbo-Visma train sweeps up Martin and Sánchez. 

Soler is dropped from the peloton again. Over 30 seconds down already.

10km to go

Froome drops away, his job done.

Just over 20 men left in the GC group, including five Jumbo-Visma men. Carapaz and Dan Martin are alone. Mas has Valverde.

9km to go

The EF duo of Carthy and Woods are quite far down the GC group. They should be suited to the super-steep slopes coming up though.

Guillaume Martin is still hanging on to the rear of the group.

8.5km to go

Gesink continues at the front.

1:15 to the Soler group already.

7.5km to go

The group has just crossed a flat kilometre, well 2.5 per cent. Now it's a kilometre at 13.6 per cent to kick off the real hard section of the Angliru.

6.5 kilometres of double-digit gradients coming up.

Gesink remains on the front ahead of Vingegaard and Kuss.

7km to go

Gorka Izagirre is tailed off the rear as Vingegaard takes over.

Vingegaard, Kuss, Roglič, Carapaz, Mas, Martin, Carthy, Woods, Vlasov, Poels. That's it. That's the front group.

Valverde, Großschartner, De la Cruz, Nieve are gone.

6km to go

18 per cent gradients on the climb now.

Bennett was dropped for Jumbo-Visma, too, by the way. Three men left.

Martin and Mas right on Roglič's wheel. The two EF men next. Carapaz is at the rear of the group with Vlasov and Poels

5.5km to go

No changes in the front group yet. Nieve is the next man on the road.

Gaps opening to Poels at the rear. Carapaz is still at the back of the group.

No crowds up here, of course. They're banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's very different from the previous climbs of this monster mountain.

23 seconds to Nieve as the group tackle the 15 per cent gradients.

5km to go

Poels hangs off the back of the group. A very small gap between Carapaz and the two EF men.

Valverde 55 seconds down with De la Cruz. Soler is long gone at this point.

When Vingegaard drops off his steady pacemaking I can see this group explode as Kuss takes over.

4.5km to go

No way back for Poels now. He's definitively dropped.

4km to go

The riders still haven't passed the toughest part of the climb yet...

The steepest part, La Cueña Les Cabres, sees gradients over 20 per cent and comes 3km out.

3.5km to go

Mas moves up in the group. And he pushes on off the front!

Vingegaard is done. Kuss pushes on to catch Mas on the 18 per cent gradients. 

Martin is in trouble. Woods is gone.

Carapaz, Carthy and Vlasov follow Roglič. Mas still just in the lead. Martin fighting to get back.

3km to go

Carthy pushes on now in pursuit of Mas. Vlasov goes too.

Roglič and Carapaz stick together with Kuss dropping back to help.

This is the steepest part of the climb now. Martin comes back to Roglič and Carapaz. 

Not much distance at all between Mas at the front and Martin at the rear.

Valverde is just 400 metres down the mountain but 1:45 down in time.

2.3km to go

Mas still leads the way. Carapaz makes a move behind. Roglič struggles.

Mas has around 10 bike lengths, maybe. The chase group is still together.

2km to go

Carapaz has a few bike lengths. Kuss and Carthy chase. Roglič, Martin and Vlasov right behind.

Carapaz pushes on and passes Mas.

Carthy with Carapaz and Mas. Martin and Vlasov next on the road with the Jumbo-Visma men losing ground.

1.5km to go

13 seconds between Carapaz, Mas and Carthy and Martin, Vlasov, Kuss and Roglič.

Vlasov coming across to the lead trio as they head into a slightly less brutal section...

The damage is limited to 15 seconds at the moment. Carthy edging out front on his own now.

Carthy has a decent gap here! He's going it alone as the gradient eases to 10 per cent. He's not far from the final kilometre now.

1km to go

Carthy alone under the red kite. Mas, Carapaz and Vlasov behind.

Carapaz is dropped by Mas and Vlasov!

600m to go

Carthy has reached the flat/downhill run to the line first. It'll be a stage win for him today.

Hugh Carthy wins on the Alto de l'Angliru!

Vlasov and Mas finish second and third at 17 seconds.

Mas next at 18 seconds.

Roglič, Kuss and Martin at 27 seconds.

Carapaz is the new race leader!

Poels and Woods cross the line 1:36 down.

Großschartner and Nieve at 2:17.

Valverde finishes at 2:56.

Carthy moves up to third overall with that ride. Martin down to fourth.

The top four are separated by just 35 seconds heading into the rest day and the stage 13 time trial.

Carapaz is back in red, 10 seconds up on Roglič. It will almost certainly shift back by a much larger margin in the time trial, though.

Stage winner Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling)

"It's a dream come true to win any professional race but to win in a Grand Tour on a mythical climb, it doesn't get any better than that. It's hard to put into words.

"I think for the public it's everything they want, a close race heading into a time trial. It's everything to play for."

Roglič after the finish...

"It was too hard a climb for a sprinter, eh? I didn't have the best day but at the end it's OK, I'm happy with it. Now we go on with the time trial on Tuesday. It definitely will be a really hard one. I will do my best and we will see after Tuesday."

Here's our stage 12 report

Looking at the timings up the climb, Carthy's effort of 43:36 slots into the top 10 all-time at over a minute quicker than the top times (44:38) set by Wout Poels and Chri Froome three years ago.

He's seventh quickest in the climb's history, while the chasers Vlasov, Mas and Carapaz (43:52) also sneak ahead of Nibali in 2008 and Heras in 2002.

1. Roberto Heras, 2000 – 41:55
2. Chris Horner, 2013 – 43:06
3. Alberto Contador, 2008 – 43:12
4. Tonkov & Laiseka, 2000 – 43:24
5. Valverde & Nibali, 2013 – 43:34
6. Hugh Carthy, 2020 – 43:36
7. Vlasov, Mas & Carapaz, 2020 – 43:52
8. Alejandro Valverde, 2008 – 43:54
9. Roberto Heras, 2002 – 43:55
10. Juan Jose Cobo, 2011– 43:57
11. Kuss, Roglič & Martin, 2020 – 44:02
12. Joaquim Rodríguez, 2008 – 44:10
13. Raimundas Rumšas, 2000 – 44:13
14. Levi Leipheimer, 2008 – 44:17
15. Txema Del Olmo, 2000 – 44:22

It's hard to give an impression of the brutality of the climb through still images but here's an attempt... A couple of shots of Carapaz, Carthy and Mas on the steepest slopes.

New race leader Richard Carapaz:

"This climb made a natural selection. We already spent a lot of energy yesterday and it was a very hard stage today. I remembered it from 2017 but it’s been incredible.

"I tried in the end, Mas and Carthy also went for it and I continued with my pace and that gave me a 10-second advantage. That’s great for us, we’re going towards the time trial with the idea to give our best and defend the leadership.

"Im very happy to wear [La Roja] again. It’s a good thing for me, for the team, and for everything we’ve been doing."

Which GC riders lost time on the Alto de l'Angliru at the Vuelta a España

Roglič out of red but still in the driving seat as Soler plummets out of top 10 

Roglič loses Vuelta a España lead but saves the day on the Angliru

Slovenian has 10-second disadvantage to Carapaz

Carthy soars onto Vuelta a España podium with solo stage win on Angliru

Briton takes first Grand Tour stage win on Spain’s toughest climb 

Dan Martin buoyed despite losing a spot in Vuelta a Espana standings on Angliru

Irishman 35 seconds off new race leader Carapaz after Alto de l'Angliru

Carapaz reclaims Vuelta a España lead after dropping Roglic on Angliru

Ecuadorian has 10-second advantage over Slovenian before final time trial

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