Vitoria-Gasteiz sees its fair share of pro-pelotons. Whether La Vuelta or the Utzulia Basque country, year in year out at least one major race visits the capital city of the Basque Country. This August we’ll see stage 4 of La Vuelta roll out from Vitoria and next summer the 2nd stage of the Tour de France.
But first the Itzulia Basque Country. The riders head north on a flat route, at least for the first hour or so. The race then descends onto another flat section. It’s only on the first of several circuits around Zamudio that the route becomes more lumpy.
For starters, the Vivero is a 4.4 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 7.2%, after which the route goes either up or down for the rest of the day. Three ascents stand out. The first one goes to Jata (9.1 kilometres at 3%), the second is the Urruztimendi (1.9 kilometres at 11%), and with 25 kilometres remaining the Vivero is tackled from another side: 6 kilometres at 6.3%.
The route descends to sea level for a flat finale of 15 kilometres.
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 4.
Another interesting read: results 4th stage 2022 Tour of the Basque Country.
Tour of the Basque Country 2022 stage 4: route, profile, more
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