The opening road stage of the Vuelta begins west of Lisbon in the surfer’s paradise of Cascais. After hugging the coast in the opening kilometres, the course winds inland for the category 4 Alto do Lagoa Azul before passing through the striking hilltop town of Sintra, dubbed a “glorious Eden” by Lord Byron.
The 194km stage follows a largely flat route thereafter, but the sprinters might be denied at the last. The category 4 Alto da Batalha comes just under 20km from the finish in Ourém and provides an obvious springboard for late attackers.
TOPICS
-
Tour of Denmark: Wout van Aert scores hat-trick on stage 3 with a win on wet and wild queen stage
Lukaš Kubiš retains second place on GC with runner-up finish to race leader -
Charlie Aldridge and Sina Frei win short track titles in tight matchups in UEC Mountain Bike European Championships
Swiss women fill two podium spots on home soil at Monte Tamaro while compatriot Dario Lillo takes bronze for men -
'Every race in my life, I'm underestimated' – Marlen Reusser has no doubts ahead of first major Tour de France Femmes GC campaign
Inclusion of a TT clearly suits the world champion, but she wants to remind the world she's a perfectly strong climber, too -
'Not the best scenario, but it's life' – Primož Roglič hit by car driver in training, forced to miss build-up races for Vuelta a España
Slovenian largely uninjured but reveals big bruise to back of leg after cancelling participation at Clásica San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos
