Recently, La Vuelta rather often ventured into the sweltering Extremadura region to try out unprecedented climbs. Such as Piornal in 2022 (Remco Evenepoel victory) and Pico Villuercas in 2021 (Romain Bardet victory).
This time it’s Pico Pitolero that will debut on the Spanish Grand Tour. The 13.8 kilometres climb at 7% offers double digit material from kilometre 9 onward until it evens out after the flamme rouge. Moreover, while getting steeper, the road conditions worsen. This part is merely a narrow corrugated concrete track with relentless double-digit gradients and a maximum tilt of 24%.
Cold comfort for the riders: the last kilometre flattens out to 2.1%.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 6, 4 and 4 seconds.
Vuelta a España 2024 stage 4: profile & more
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