The route starts to climb from the start, although at shallow gradients. But it gets gradually steeper until the last 4.5 kilometres before Altube go up at 5.7%. Perfect terrain for an interesting battle for the breakaway.
No downhill after the top but the route continues on rolling roads for tens of kilometres. Then, just after Murgia, the drop commences. After 91.7 kilometres the pilots are back where it all started. In Laudio.
The race continues onto a circuit that’s ridden twice. And on both occasions the riders climb to Opellora and Ozeka, two ghost villages on steep hills. The Opellora climb is 1.1 kilometres long and rises at 13%, the Ozeka climb 3.6 kilometres with an average gradient of 7.4%.
There are 24 kilometres remaining after the the last passage through Ozeka. The first half is mostly on descent, the second a false flat. And that false flat comes in twos as well. First part up, second part down.
The first three riders on the line gain times bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while both intermediate sprints come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 3.
Another interesting read: results 3rd stage 2022 Tour of the Basque Country.
Tour of the Basque Country 2022 stage 3: route, profile, more
Click on the images to zoom
