The starting ramp is installed on the Circuito De Navarra near Los Arcos. This is a motorsport race track that’s also used for F-1 testing.
The first 5.5 kilometres are on the race track before the riders head for Los Arcos and take the NA-1110 to target Logroño. Shortly before entering the city’s perimeters they cross the border to the wine region La Rioja. With a population of 113,000, Logroño is its capital.
The course runs on flat to gently rolling roads with the exception of the middle section. No tough climbs, mind you, but on a time trial bike the hurdles can be quite tricky. At kilometer 15.4 a 500 metres stretch goes up at 7%; at kilometre 17.2 there is a 1 kilometre slope at 4.5%; at kilometre 19 another kilometre is slightly steeper (4.9%); at kilometre 20.5 a 500 metres stretch at 3.2% runs to the highest point of the day, while at kilometer 23.8 the last serious slope accounts for 1 kilometre at 5%.
Stage 12 of the 2014 Vuelta was almost entirely played out in the city. Both start and finish were in Logroño and the race consisted of eight 20 kilometres laps. After a big crash in the finale John Degenkolb sprinted to victory, thus stepping in his own shoes. Two years before, in 2012, he powered to the win in the ‘wine capital’, too.
Read also: results/report 16th stage.
Vuelta 2017 stage 16: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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