In stage 15 of the Vuelta it will be up to the crème de la crème of the climbers. At merely 127 kilometres, the riders face more than 2,800 vertical metres. By far the most climbing metres are in the second half of the route, albeit, to be frank, the roads already start to slope from kilometre 30 onwards.
The first tough task at hand is the Alto de Hazallanas. The last 7 kilometres of this climb is averaging 9% and the steepest ramps are 19% and 22%, while the full climb amounts to 16.3 kilometres at 5.5%. The peak is crested at kilometre 74.
Following a 20 kilometres descent the riders follow the valley for a couple of kilometres before they hit the Alto de Purche. No peak however, straight after the Purche the riders tackle the Alto Hoya de la Mora – so without a drop in between. Basically, the Alto de Monachil and Hoya de la Morais are one huge climb of 28.4 kilometres with an average gradient of 5.9%.
It’s only logical the climbers are going to seize power in the 15th stage. The only question is – will the winner be the best climber in the break or the best GC climber of the day?
Favourites 15th stage 2017 Vuelta
*** Chris Froome, Steven Kruijswijk, Rafal Majka, Alberto Contador
** Romain Bardet, Ilnur Zakarin, Miguel Ángel López, Esteban Chaves
* Adam Yates, Louis Meintjes, Simon Yates, Tejay van Garderen
Vuelta 2017 stage 15: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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