2024 Vuelta a España Stage 18 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 18 of the 2024 Vuelta a España! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España is a hilly race through the Basque Country. It is 175 kilometres long and includes two intermediate climbs. An uphill kick inside the last 6 kilometres peps up the finale before the riders fly downhill to the finish line.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is a regular host of the Itzulia Basque Country. Year in and year out, a stage starts in one of the greenest cities in Spain, while La Vuelta drops by every now and then. Last year, the 2nd stage of the Tour de France even started in the town that’s known for its love for cycling.
Following some minor uphills in the first 20 kilometres the route continues on virtually flat terrain to the Alto de Rivas de Tereso, which is a climb of a little over 10 kilometres and an average gradient of 4.1%. The downhill leads to a slighly more rolling section of 25 kilometres before the Puerto Herrera throws in 5.4 kilometres at 8.7%.
There are 45 kilometres remaining at the summit of the Puerto Herrera and most of it is played out on lumpy terrain. The rider enters the Parque Natural de Izki with roughly 15 kilometers remaining. The first 6 of which run rolling uphill at moderate gradients. Then the road gets very narrow – essentially a bike lane – before a downhill leads to Corres. That’s where a 2 kilometres climb at 5% begins, while the last 4 kilometres of the race fly downhill to Maeztu on the northern edge of the Natural Park.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 second. The intermediate sprint comes with 6, 4 and 2 seconds.
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