Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2018 Route stage 3: Poble Nou de Benitaxell - Calpe

Friday, 2 February 2018 - The 3rd stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is a team time trial. At 23.2 kilometres, the route runs on slightly rolling terrain from Poble Nou de Benitaxell to Calpe. The weather is tricky - strong winds and rain.

The route is undulating and twisty, especially shortly after the start and just past halfway through the race. No steep ramps though, the gradients mostly fluctuate around 2 to 4%. At kilometre 4 a drop of approximately 5 kilometres takes the riders to a small climb with the only intermediate time check at the top. And on it goes on the slightly rolling terrain, although the last 3 kilometres are flat - that is, if you don't take the 4% climb in the last 600 metres into account.

The teams have to be careful as the weather is bad today in this part of Spain. It's windy and rainy.

Calpe is located in the heart of the Costa Blanca. The place is surrounded by mountains and its directed southward so the winters are relatively warm. Small wonder World Tour teams are regular visitors. The spot is popular for winter training camps.

Two years ego, the 19th stage of the Vuelta a España was an individual time trial to Calpe. The 37 kilometres course was flat to rolling, and Chris Froome took the win 44 seconds ahead of Jonathan Castroviejo and more than 1 minute ahead of all GC-contenders. It was not enough to win the overall, though. Two days later Nairo Quintana sealed victory at the 2016 Vuelta with the Briton 1'23" in arrears.