Departure place Mataró is located in the foothills of the Pyrenees. In last two editions of the Volta a Catalunya a stage left here for Olot. Now it’s a different story with a route leading to the high moutains.
The riders face the Puerto de Toses as a mid-way climb. Peaking at an elevation of over 1,800 metres, this is a many-faceted climb. The inclination in the first 7 kilometres is around 3% to 4% before a flat to descending section runs up to 4 à 5% gradients. Looks gently enough, right? No! In the 4 kilometres before the top the Toses starts to show its sharp teeth with average slopes of 9%, while the last kilometre is a 10.1% toil with the steepest ramp at 14%.
The closing circuit in La Molina is familiar from recent editions. The last 48 kilometres take in a double ascent up to the ski resort in the Pyrenees. The 5.6 kilometres climb is averaging 5.8%, while the steepest ramps account for 9%. Following the last passage in La Molina the climbs for almost 2 kilometres before the dying metres of the race are in descent.
Recent winners in La Molina are Joaquim Rodriguez (2014), Tejay van Garderen (2015), and Dan Martin (2016).
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the two intermediate sprints (at kilometre 69.4 and at kilometre 111.8) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Results/race report 3rd stage of the Volta a Catalunya 2017.
Volta a Catalunya 2017 stage 3: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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