2019 Vuelta a España Stage 18 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 18 of the 2019 Vuelta a España! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
At 177.5 kilometres, the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España travels over four intermediate climbs from Colmenar Viejo to Becerril de la Sierra. The race is played out in the middle mountains north of Madrid.
The 18th stage of La Vuelta ventures into the mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama and Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. In fact, the route takes in several loops in a condensed area just north of Madrid. Following 20 kilometres on the flat, the uphill-party starts at the foot of the Puerto Navacerrada. The 11.8 kilometres ascent at 6.3% runs to the peak at 1,860 metres. After a few kilometres at that altitude the route plunges down to the foot of Puerto de la Morcuera.
The Morcuera is tackled twice, the first time on the easier northern side: 13.2 kilometres at 5% and very steady. On descent the riders move through Miraflores de la Sierra, only to return to the village some 23 kilometres later after a local lap. They go back up the same roads that they just descended. Again, the Morcuera is a very steady climb, although somewhat steeper on this side: 10.4 kilometres at 6.7%.
The route continues to the Puerto de Cotos. At 13.9 kilometres, the climb is marked by an average gradient of 4.8%. The first four kilometres go up at 2 to 3% and the rest of the slope is hovering around 6%. In fact, the Cotos is familiar terrain, as it is the descent of the Navacerrada, which was the first ascent of the day. Just like before, the route stays at altitude for a while before descending on the side that the riders climbed before.
Instead of returning all the way to Colmenar Viejo, the route turns right for a false flat run-in of 4 kilometres into Becerril de la Sierra.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint (at the foot of the Cotos) comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
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