Good morning and welcome to our live coverage from the penultimate stage of this year's Vuelta a Espana. It's the final mountain stage of this year's race and the final shot for the GC riders and climbers.
Here's how things stand coming into stage 17 and as you can see less than a minute separates the top-three on GC. Roglic claimed a few more seconds yesterday in the reduced bunch sprint but it's still too close to call. We all thought Roglic was the favourite to win the Tour de France with two days to go so this race isn't over until tomorrow's final stage.
We call it THE MOMENT: It’s already been the most remarkable 16 days of racing for @DanMartin86 and his ISN team in the #LaVuelta20 . But now, number 181 and his teammates are given a last chance to shake things up even further. https://t.co/3VINcPMP4z Next: pic.twitter.com/LbFPjDkIwCNovember 7, 2020
We actually finish at Alto de La Covatilla, where Dan Martin won a stage in 2011 but this is a really difficult and testing day before we even reach that final climb. We've got to race 178.2km and the first cat Alto Portillo de las Batuecas comes inside the first 50km of racing. We then have the third cat Alto de San Miguel de Valero, another third cat Alto de Cristóbal, a final third cat at Alto de Peñacaballera, then the second cat Alto de la Garganta, before the major climb to the finish.
The ascent of the Alto de La Covatilla is a brute, 11.4km in length with an average of 7.1 per cent and pitches of around 12 per cent at some points. That's where this year's Vuelta a Espana will be won.
We're about 10 minutes away from the start of today's stage.
For an excellent preview into today's stage, you can read Alasdair Fotheringham's article, right here.
And through the neutralized zone we go. We'll be officially racing on stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana in just a moment. Roglic is near the front in red as he looks to defend the race that he won in 2019.
It's only a short neutralized zone and already we're officially racing on stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana. It's all to play for.
The first 10-15km are rolling as we leave Sequeros but there are a few steep descents and uphill sections before the road flattens out. It's excellent terrain for a break to form and for GC riders to potentially throw teammates up the road for later. It's no surprise that the start has been incredibly fast but no breaks just yet.
We've already covered 8km and still no break but there have been countless attacks from the front of the peloton.
There's a bit of a cross-headwind out there right now and temperatures are at a relatively cool 11 degrees as we see arm warmers are several layers on most riders. They'll drop those extra layers once we hit the final couple of major climbs.
Three riders have just clipped off the front of the peloton. Schwarzmann, Henao and Dewulf. They only have ten seconds on the peloton after 10km of racing.
Henao is still looking for a contract for next season and this is his final chance to get noticed before the race is over. Here's a story on 10 (although one of the riders listed now has a deal) riders that still need a contract for next year.
Henao and his two companions have been caught but they were briefly joined by Cavagna, who came close to winning a stage yesterday. He was caught with around 2km to go.
A new wave of riders goes clear, this time with 12 in the break but they only have a handful of seconds over the peloton. This has been a relentless start to the action.
Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is on the attack - of course he is - but there are about 15 riders off the front at the moment but they're currently split into at least two groups with 20km covered already.
We're still some way off but the first major test today is the Alto Portillo de las Batuecas. It's 10.1km in length and has an average gradient of 6.5 per cent.
We're now back to having three riders up the road with Oliveira, Dewulf and van der Sande on the move. They only have 20 seconds but that's still the biggest gap that we've seen this morning.
Back together again but UAE, Movistar and NTT are among the teams trying to tear the race apart as we see a few drops of rain start to land. 152km to go.
A group of around 35 riders have now moved clear of the peloton, or what's left of the peloton.
De La Cruz is the top GC rider on the break.
The large group have opened up a 45 second lead with 149km to go as we look back and see Jumbo Visma set the pace for the peloton.
Here are the riders in the break:
Hofstede (Jumbo-Visma, Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), De la Cruz, I. Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates:), Lopez (Trek-Segafredo), Donovan (Sunweb), Fraile (Astana), Ackermann, Schwarzmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Schultz, Smith (Mitchelton-Scott), Armirail, Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Dewulf, Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal), Herrada, Martin (Cofidis), De Bod (NTT), Arcas, Erviti, Oliveira (Movistar), Bagües (Caja Rural), Molenaar (Burgos-BH).
There are a lot of followers in the break, who aren't working but the gap continues to go out, and it's now at 1:32 with 145km to go as the rain starts to come down a bit heavier.
The list of riders on the attack has gone out to 34. We'll have the rest of the names shorly but de la Cruz remains the best placed rider, starting the stage today in 10th overall.
Here's the composition of the break:
Situation
Sunweb and Movistar are having some discussions on the front of the break and they're not happy, perhaps with de la Cruz being there but it was UAE who were helping to push the pace. It looks like the organisation has gone out of this move but we'll see.
This climb is long and hard enough to sort this lead group out though, so we could see another set of riders break free.
Roglic must be thinking as to why UAE have it in for him but although de la Cruz is no threat to the race leader, this pace is going to wear down the peloton well before the final climb. UAE are once more back on the front and setting the pace with the gap at 2'07 now.
Away from the Vuelta a Espana, Gianni Savio has told CN that his roster is complete for 2020. The full list of names will be out next week but there's no room for Fabio Aru, who is still looking for a team. Here's our short interview with Savio.
Situation
Jumbo have a rider in the break but the rest of their roster are on the front of the main field with EF and then Ineos lined out behind them.
The rain has eased but the bunch will keep their jackets on ahead of the long descent as we see the gap to the break move out to 3'07.
It's all UAE on the front of the break at the moment so the rest of the riders in the move can't really complain at this point and the gap is extending as it moves out to 3'14 with 132km to go.
The TT in the Madrid Challenge has taken please. You can find our report right here.
Lots of fog so we can hardly see a thing from the CN blimp but we do know that there's just 2.1km to go until we reach the summit of this climb. Meanwhile the gap has gone out to 3'30 with 131km to go
Descending in the rain, with wet roads and fog will be no easy task for any of the riders out there today, and part of this descent coming up has some really technical and steep parts. We could see more splits but hopefully all the riders come down the climb safely.
3'45 now for the break as we come towards the summit of the ascent and 129km to go on the stage. Martin is first over the top in the KOM jersey. He's already wrapped up that competition.
UAE continue to push the pace at the front of the break and the lead is almost up to four minutes. 3'52 to be precise.
A reminder of the riders in the break:
Hofstede Jumbo-Visma), Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Costa, De la Cruz, Henao, I. Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates), Lopez (Trek-Segafredo), Donovan, Storer, Sütterlin (Sunweb), Fraile, I. Izagirre (Astana), Ackermann, Schwarzmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Schultz, Smith (Mitchelton-Scott), Armirail, Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Van den Berg (EF Pro Cycling), Wright (Bahrain-McLaren), Godon (AG2R La Mondiale), Dewulf, Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal), Herrada, Martin, Lafay (Cofidis), De Bod, Mäder (NTT), Arcas, Erviti, Oliveira (Movistar), Bagües, Lastra (Caja Rural), and Molenaar (Burgos-BH).
The sun has come out but the roads on the descent are still wet but so far no problems for either the break or the peloton with the gap between them holding at 3'48 and 111km to go.
The rain is back but we're at least off the descent and back onto the rolling terrain that comes before the trio of third cat climbs up the road.
Terpstra had moved clear of the peloton on the descent but Jumbo Visma have picked him up as the rain worsens. The weather is going to crack a number of GC riders today, for sure. 109km to go.
We're on an unclassified climb at the moment but the rain is once again a factor as the break lose about 20 seconds, with the gap now at 3'40.
Nelson Oliveira, de la Cruz and three other riders have gone clear with 101km to go. No time check to them and the rest of the break.
And onto the second climb of the day, the Alto de San Miguel de Valero. It's 12km in length but only a third cat.
Crash! Garcia for Caja Rural has come down in the wet conditions. He's slowly getting back to his feet and should be okay.
Back to the peloton and Gesink has taken over. His task might be to set the pace for the next three third cat climbs. The average gradient on this climb is 3.4 per cent but after the tough start and in these conditions, it will still hurt the GC riders.
The gap has come down to the break - and it's all together again - after Gesink came to the front with the advantage down to 3'15 with 93km to go.
Gesink isn't messing around and his pace setting has dropped about 30 riders already as what's left of the peloton line out behind him.
Just 2.4km to go on the climb and Chaves has been dropped. His top 20 chances are going to end at this rate. He came into the stage 20th overall but was a top-five contender after a few days of racing.
Still, a healthy Chaves should be able to hold this pace as we see him lose ground on this long third cat climb. 91km to go.
Situation
It's still Gesink on the front of the bunch with Roglic and the rest of Jumbo Visma just behind them as the rain returns once more.
The gap is holding on the Alto de Cristóbal as Gesink continues to se the pace. Just behind Jumbo we have EF and Ineos.
Armirail is doing a huge amount of work on the front for Groupama, who have Gaudu hidden in there somewhere.
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Through the feedzone and the break have 3'00 exactly on the peloton with 74km to go.
Over the top of the climb for the break but they've lost Ackermann, who has been dropped from the front of the race.
That all means that we have just three more climbs remaining in this year's Vuelta a Espana. Here's the GC coming into the stage.
General Classification
1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 64:20:31
2 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Pro Cycling 00:00:53
4 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation 00:01:48
5 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 00:03:29
6 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren 00:06:21
7 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:07:20
8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 00:08:45
9 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana Pro Team 00:08:54
10 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 00:09:29
And the sun is out. For now at least. With 70km to go we have a gap of 2'56 between the break and the rest of the peloton.
Chaves made it back to the peloton on the last descent but he's still towards the read of the main field as up front Gesink does all the work for Jumbo Visma.
It's still just UAE and FDJ on the front of the front as the work for de la Cruz and Gaudu respectively, as we see Ackermann is caught by the peloton. 65km to go.
Just under 15km to go until we reach the final 3rd cat climb of the stage, the Alto de Peñacaballera.
We're an unclassified climb once more and the gap is up to 3;29 but with 59km to go Movistar have replaced Jumbo on the front.
Enric Mas is fifth on GC so this all for him today as Movistar try and crack the podium. It's going to be tough ask but Movistar have caused a split and it looks like Ineos have been forced to chase.
Dan Martin and Carapaz have been caught out and they need to close this one down very quickly.
They've made it back and the peloton has reformed but that was a slight scare for Carapaz and Martin (D) but that acceleration has taken 30 seconds off the break's lead.
Movistar have six riders on the front while Roglic only has two or three riders left at this side. Can Movistar finish this off though? That's the big question.
That looks like Froome losing contact with the leaders and Carapaz might be isolated already with 56km to go.
Carapaz has two riders, and one of them is Amador as what's left of the main field is strung out all over the road with 55km to go. The break are at 2'56.
Situation
The climb is 4.6km in length but it's tough enough to imagine we'll lose a few more riders off the back of the peloton in the next few kilometers.
The rain is back, by the way, as Movistar continue to set the pace and line out the GC favourites. The break are 2.6km from the summit of the climb.
Oliveira has done most of the work on the front of the break and he's still there now with the break holding at 2'56 with 44km to go. We're 1km from the summit of this climb.
Oliveira leads the break over the climb before FDJ hit the front. We just have two climbs to come and they're the toughest of the day, the Alto de la Garganta and then the final slog up the Alto de La Covatilla.
A number of riders have been swept up by the peloton, including Oliveira, who has finally sat up. Mas has three teammates left, plus Valverde, if you want to count him.
We're onto the Alto de la Garganta. It's 12km in length with an average gradient of 4.8 per cent as we see Movistar sweep up a few more riders who were dropped from the break.
Situation
Molenaar has just been caught by the peloton but we still have 9.5km to go on this climb. Up ahead it's Rui Costa who leads the break.
Mas still has four riders on the front as the break's advantage drops below two minutes. That could be a minute by the time we reach the summit of this climb. We're going to see Roglic, Carthy and Carapaz decide this stage and the GC.
Fraile has to stop for a mechanical and that might mean he's going to be caught by the bunch too.
The climb levels off briefly but a few more riders are still being dropped from the break. That's Sutterlin going backwards, alongside Lastra.
We're down to less than 20 riders still in the break as Movistar chip another 15 seconds off the leaders' advantage. The gap is at 1'41 with 31km to go.
5km from the summit of this penultimate climb as Fraile is about to be caught by the peloton.
30km to go and Soler has attacked.
That means Movistar have sat up and it brings Kuss and Bennett to the front for Roglic. 4.3km to go until we're at the top of the climb.
The break only have 1;15 as we see Soler quickly open up a decent gap.
Into the mist of the mountain and Soler is picking his way through a small group of riders who were dropped from the break earlier. He might make contact by the top of the climb because he's only 50 seconds back. 29km to go.
Soler is on a mission. He's 38 seconds from the break and has 55 seconds on the Roglic group. Jumbo may prefer him to take the stage and the related time bonus at the finish.
Soler has a teammate wait for him and he has 1'10 now on the Roglic group.
Over the top of the climb and with 25km to go the stage and the GC are still to play for.
Erviti and Soler are now just 10 seconds down on the break, which only consists of 14 riders. The bunch are at 1'50 as Roglic just asks his team to set a steady tempo before the final climb. 20km to go. We're almost on the final climb.
Even if Soler makes contact he'll still have to battle Gaudu and Martin on the final climb but things are looking good for Movistar as they hunt the stage win.
19km to go and Soler makes contact. He has two men in the break so Movistar will probably need to push on right away because at 2'09 they need a much bigger margin. Back in the peloton and Jumbo Visma are leading.
We have a small cobbled climb and it's steep in sections as we see a few riders in the break struggle for traction.
Riders have begun attacking from the break before the main final climb starts. 17.7km to go.
Gino Mader kicked clear and he has a small gap as back in the bunch Roglic moves up to second wheel.
This narrow cobbled climb is no joke as we see a number of riders struggle at the back. The break have 2.29 with 16km to go.
Mader, Izaggire