2018 Vuelta a España Stage 20 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 20 of the 2018 Vuelta a España! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The last mountain stage of the Vuelta a España amounts to merely 97.3 kilometres, yet takes in more than 3,000 vertical metres. The 20th stage travels over Andorra’s hardest climbs should provide a dramatic conclusion to the mountains of 2018's last Grand Tour.
The Vuelta’s penultimate stage begins with its only flat section before the riders tackle the Col de la Comella at kilometre 1. It’s not the hardest limb of the day, but – at 4.7 kilometres at 6.8% – perfect to stretch the legs. Or to move into the breakaway…
The Coll de Beixalis is next on the list of six climbs in today’s road book. The Beixalis amounts to 10.0 kilometres and the average gradient is 6.5%, while its steepest stretch is 14%.
Straight after the descent the Coll de Ordino looms. The 11.2 kilometres at 6.5% is crested after 42 kilometres before the route continues for a few kilometres in rolling fashion. The descent back into the valley runs to the foot of the Coll de Beixalis, which is approached from the northern side this time. It’s the same climb, but the slope starts a few kilometres later. This way the Beixalis amounts to 6.8 kilometres at 8.0%.
And on it goes. The penultimate ascent does ring a bell, too. The route goes back up on the Coll de La Comella, but the second drag up to the top is on the other side. For 4 kilometres the route climbs at 4.9% before the top is crested with 16.5 kilometres to go.
The final climb, Coll de La Gallina, which is widely rated as Andorra’s hardest climb. The final haul up to the line amounts to 7.7 kilometres with an average gradient of 7.8% op. The Gallina is known for its double digit switchbacks not too far from the summit.
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint (at kilometre 30.5) comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Get our full coverage of the Vuelta a España and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
