The Asturias mountains still loom on Saturday, but after the monster ascent of Angliru to cap Friday's contest, at least it is a shorter campaign into the remote western peaks that feature on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España.
From Avilés it is 135.9km to Lagos de Somiedo, which is 66 fewer kilometres than the day before. However, a hilly opening half with one category 3 climb is the prelude to a pair of closing first-category ascents, the second one Alto de la Farrapona, which is 16.8km to the top and the finish line.
Riders can't overlook the middle climb, Puertu de San Llauriebzu, which averages 8.6% for almost 10km. From the base of Somiedo, all 29km to the crest of the category 1 climb are uphill, with a light reprieve for an intermediate sprint and bonus seconds at Entragu in between.
The ascent of Farrapona begins from the base of the Llaurienzu, 24km to the summit which marks the border between Asturias and León. The official climb itself is measured across the final 16.8km, which averages nearly 8.8%, making it a tough ramp for a second day in a row.
Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) followed the pace of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on Friday and the two were only separated by seconds on that summit finish, Almeida making up 4 seconds on GC, but still trailing by 46 seconds. The two will continue to mark each other with the race still in the second week, so the stage could open the door for new top 10 riders like Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) to show off their climbing capabilities.
Stage 14 profile of 2025 Vuelta a España (Image credit: Unipublic)
Climbs
L'Alto Tenebreo (cat. 3), km. 69.5
Pertu de San Llaurienzu (cat. 1), km. 102.1
La Farrapona (cat. 1), km 135.9
Sprints
Entragu, km. 89.9 - time bonus
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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Change made to accomodate UCI request to reduce time women's teams are required to spend in Australia as they wait for Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
